vol 6

Prologue
That Memory
“―Dragon kin, you say?”
On the evening of a certain day. The modern
magician Yakagi Suimei heard the name of that
famous imaginary being from his father, Yakagi
Kazami's mouth.
―Dragon kin. In the modern world filled with
fictional novels, it was a name widely associated
with monsters that had bodies like reptiles that could
breathe poison or fire and had wings on their backs.
In the Orient, dragons were considered as a
symbol of virtue, while in the west, they were
devils―regarded as the incarnation of deceased
spirits filled with malignancy, they served as an 'evil'
that was exterminated by gods and angels.
The origin of the image of dragons came from the
origin of the reptilian body, the snake. In the Bible,
the snake was evil, and was the symbol of sin which
tempted Adam and Eve.
Back in ancient times, religions based on the Bible
and the indigenous religions of Ancient Egypt which
worshipped snakes came into conflict, and as a
result, the thought that snakes equal devils spread
throughout many western spheres. Because of this,
dragons were drawn as the enemies of humankind
since ancient times, and were treated as evil.
... The reason Suimei turned around the question
like that, was because suddenly the phrase 'Do you
know about dragon kin?' came flying at his ears
from his father out of nowhere. Naturally, Suimei's
knowledge was nowhere near as deep as his father's,
so all he could do was shake his head from atop the
sofa.
“Evidence of dragon kin has been left behind in
history books and literature, but their actual
existence is not recognized. And, among us
magicians, they are an existence that we conceal.”
“Conceal...?”
“Which means...”
As Suimei frowned at the indirect phrasing, as if to
lend him a hand, Kazami tapped the armrest on his
wheelchair with his finger.
“In reality, they exist, right?”
“Though it's already a story of the past.”
As expected, his father was gazing out the veranda
at the cloudy sky while he spoke. As Suimei waited
for the conversation to continue, suddenly, his father
shot a gaze towards him.
“Suimei, make some coffee.”
“Right in the middle of this talk?”
“I suddenly wanted some. It can't be helped. It's a
privilege of a parent to have their son make coffee
for them.”
“What kind of privilege is that...? Is it fine if it's
instant?”
“I don't mind. But...”
“Black, right? Got it.”
“Are you also having some?”
“After putting in milk and syrup.”
“Hurry up and get used to drinking it black.”
“One day.”
Suimei returned a small smile to his father's
expression which didn't change at all. His father's
expression was always like a stone bust, but it wasn't
like he had no emotions. He simply lost his ability to
show his emotions outwardly, just like now, he
would still talk frivolously in good humour. Though
the only ones who knew this were the ones close to
him.
“So, what was that about dragons? They're being
hidden in the world of magicians right?”
“That's right. They're hidden because it's better to
have fewer people who know about it after all.
However, that is no longer the case.”
After taking a sip of his coffee, Kazami continued
speaking.
“The Revelation of Light indicates that a dragon
will show up in Europe from an alternate plane. It's
a mystical calamity on a scale bigger than any in
history so far.”
The Revelation of Light was a vessel which
predicted phenomenon in the world used by the
Thousand Nights Association. It predicted everything
from trite small phenomena to gigantic apocalyptic
ones―Frankly speaking, it could be described as an
object that could predict the future. It's true nature
was a little different than that, but setting that aside.
“A scale bigger than any in history so far you
say...”
“It's a vague way of describing it huh. But because
of that, it is only a matter of time before it is known
to other magicians. At this point, keeping it hidden is
extremely inconsequential. Because the last
survivors of the dragon kin were wiped out thirty
years ago, dragons cannot be born in this world ever
again.”
“Then, why did the prediction that a dragon will
appear come up?”
“That's because of the phenomena of the
apocalypse. An unexpected outbreak of instability in
cause and effect at a location in Spain will end up as
a A-grade class source on a grand scale. From there,
a beast like figure will be born, the prediction was
that the beast will have a dragon's form.”
“A beast...”
A beast. Short for a beast of the apocalypse, it was
one of the phenomena of the apocalypse,
apparitions. Suimei was still not clear on all the
details, but when the end of the world was
determined, it was a phenomenon that appeared to
accelerate the apocalypse by annihilating all living
beings in the world, they were conceptual existences
which took the shape of 'monsters which attacked
the living.'
Most of these took on the form of a C-grade class
mix of a dog and a wolf. In the times when an
existence known as an A-grade class appeared, its
form would change and take on a shape which
people naturally held a deep fear towards. To the
people of Europe, this likely ended up being the
symbol of evil, a dragon.
“But if that gets out into the world.”
“There would be tremendous casualties in
Europe... No, it probably wouldn't just stop there.”
The largest scale in all of history, and if it had the
special characteristic of taking on the form of a
dragon, it would be impossible to defeat without a
superhuman at the level of a hero or saint. But right
now in the world, people like Saint George or Saint
Sylvester who were written about in the golden
legends were nowhere to be found. If they made a
blunder in dealing with it, it was possible the world
would end.
“Then, father too?”
“Yeah, exactly. I was called for the gathering too.
This time around, twenty magicians were chosen to
take part in the dragon subjugation. The elite few are
going to go defeat it.”
“Who's leading it?”
“The Thousand Nights Association. Just this time,
they can't entrust everything to everyone else. The
group is unified under the eldest daughter of the
Katoraia family, the representative of the Enforcers
of the Thousand Nights Association, Formelkress.
The one aiding her is her little sister, Zealkis.”
“The two strongest Enforcers in history, are
leading...?”
“On paper. In truth, the duty of leading all the
magicians on-site will be left to someone else.
Though the two girls will be extremely dependable in
the battle against the dragon...”
Kazami quietly trailed off at the end. The two
names he brought up were the Katoraia sisters who
were currently the symbols of power of the
Thousand Nights Association's Enforcement Agency.
The two of them used magic which manipulated
time, and they had strength that they could boast of
as being completely unequal in battle. But because
the two of them were still youths in their early
twenties, even if they were considered the leaders,
they would end up handing over command to the
more experienced magicians on site. For Suimei,
who was still lowly ranked as a philosopher, this
conversation was simply in another dimension.
“A dragon, and the tops of the Enforcement
Agency. It's quite the amazing story. I've been to
Europe quite a few times, but it still feels like such a
faraway conversation.”
“No, you can't talk about this like it's not your
problem.”
Confused at the meaning behind his father's
words, Suimei's understanding of them was delayed
for an instant.
“Ha? What do you mean by...”
“From the prediction, the Revelation of Light
revealed several possibilities. From the outbreak of a
dragon kin, Europe's destruction, the death of many
and the acceleration towards the apocalypse.
Naturally, because those are only possibilities, it is
also possible to alter them.”
After that roundabout way of talking, his father
spoke of the heart of the matter.
“And so, the final piece of guidance that the vessel
which predicts phenomena gave us, was you,
Suimei. That you definitely have to be brought
along.”
After speaking, Suimei looked at his father's sharp
gaze. And then, Suimei raised his voice as he yelled
in shock.
“M-ME!?”
“That's right. The actual reason for it didn't seem
to come up yet, but it likely means that your power
will become the key to fighting the dragon.”
Yakagi Kazami spoke of a serious matter with his
usual blunt expression. However, from his father's
manner of speaking, just a little, he was able to catch
a glimpse of the prideful emotions swelling up inside
him. His son's power was necessary as a vital piece.
He was happy about that, but as expected, Suimei
could still only hear this like a bolt from the blue.
“But father, I can't help but think that I'll be
completely useless in that kind of place. I'm a
magician whose rank is quite low right?”
“The bestowal of your proper magician's rank is
simply something that has been deferred. I've taught
you in a way where you have acquired at least that
much ability, you're also confident in your own
abilities right?”
“I can fight as a magician. Up until now I've
followed along with father's battles after all, and
you've also taught me about dealing with mystical
calamities. But, when it comes to fighting together
with such high ranking users, in any event, I'm still
anxious...”
Suimei's voice trailed off quietly at the end. In a
sense, it was only natural for him to feel strongly
pressured. Regardless of whether low ranked and
high ranked magicians were opposing or cooperating
with each other, there was a magic law called 'Rank
Disparity Extinction' which applied. A low ranked
magic would be shut down by a high ranked one, so
the magics used by a low ranked magician would
become extinct if they drew near to the domain of
the magic used by a high ranked magician.
By all rights, it wasn't something that occurred
unless there was a large disparity between them,
there were also certain conditions for it to come into
existence so it wasn't really something to be too
worried about, but because the magicians gathering
this time were who they were, the problem would
rise to the surface.
In this case, if the high ranking magicians took
heed not to use magic which would cause Rank
Disparity Extinction to occur, their annoyances
would only increase by one. It was the important
stage of subjugating a dragon. On the battlefield
where high ranking magicians needed to freely use
all their skills, they shouldn't have any leeway to
take care of a low ranking magician. It would be a
different matter in the case of support or bestowal
magic where one did not need to worry about Rank
Disparity Extinction, but Suimei did not think the
support and bestowal magics he could use would be
of any use to the high ranking magicians in the first
place.
In that case, he just couldn't nod back if he was
asked whether he would be of any help. Kazami then
shut his eyes.
“The reason you are seized with anxiety right now,
could also be because my way of raising you was
poor. Kiyoshiro told me that he found faults
regarding that too.”
“... What do you mean?”
“Frankly speaking, it means I've been overly strict.
Unless it was something fairly extreme, I've never
praised you right?”
“Uh... Umm, well, you certainly haven't...”
While Kazami taught Suimei magic, even when
Suimei showed skillful manipulation of magic,
Kazami did not offer him much in terms of praise.
That was certainly true. However, Suimei thought
that it was something that couldn't be helped and
put up with it precisely because he knew his father
was of the disposition where he did not talk much.
He didn't understand why that meant it was a poor
way of raising him. He didn't see the point of the
roundabout way his father was speaking.
“... Suimei. You can use large scale magic right?”
“Eh...? Yes, of course. It was father who said that
for one who names himself a modern magician, it
was essential to be able to use at least one. But
taking into account the chanting speed, it would be
rather difficult to use in actual battles, but...”
Because of the tests his father imposed on him, a
little while ago, he worked out a few that could be
used in actual combat. Because he followed along
with the intense battles that were entrusted to his
father more often recently, he chose to develop those
magics, but to use them in actual combat, his
powers were still insufficient.
“In the fight in Spain, the number of magicians
who have the ability to use large scale magic
independently without using a major ritual,
including you and me, would only be about five
people at most.”
“So for the battle this time, other than those two
from the Enforcement Agency, there aren't that
many strong magicians coming? In spite of a
monster springing forth which could bring a great
calamity to Europe?”
“Aah, no, that's not what I meant, but... Fumu, to
think that my inadequacies would come out after
coming all this way.”
His father's figure with his eyes closed deep in
though, as well as the words he spoke, were all
nothing but mysterious to Suimei.
... However, for Kazami, he understood that the
way Suimei was unable to guess his intent, was also
because of his own inadequacies.
Currently, even compared to the other high
ranking magicians, Suimei held sufficient combat
prowess to take part in the battle against the dragon.
However, Kazami hated the idea of Suimei becoming
a magician filled with self-conceit, and imposed
nothing but difficult problems upon him as his
magic teacher.
Kazami never properly informed him that the
magicians around him, including Kazami himself,
were all magicians with unusual levels of skill. He
thought it would be bad for Suimei to live a life that
was soaked in nothing but magic, and wanted him
to focus on life as a normal person without any
relation to magic―originally, being a magician was
supposed to be an extra way of living for him, but it
could be said that that way of raising him led to
Suimei's misunderstandings.
He was a son Kazami could be proud of no matter
where he was. Even the other magic organization
would gladly welcome his skill and talent. However,
the negative effect of teaching him as much as he
could, was the birth of 'a timid magician who did not
correctly understand his own strength.'
It could be said that he destroyed that magician's
greatest enemy known as 'self-conceit.' But, to
compensate for that, his prudence was turned
around against him, and just what kind of enemy
that would turn in to was an issue for Suimei to
resolve on his own from here on out. But, right
now―
“You'll understand the reason if you go. Of course,
don't lose your focus. This battle will likely be the
most relentless battle you will ever face from here on
out after all.”
“... Yes.”
Suimei nodded back to Kazami, and after they
finished drinking, he stood up and brought their cups
to the sink. While staring at the water flowing out of
the faucet, he noticed a sense of discomfort towards
the unreasonable flow of events.
“A dragon, huh...”
He could feel an ominous feeling on the back of his
neck like it was being scorched. That strange red hot
sensation was just pulsing as it attacked him. From
what his father said, this was because of a power his
mother had. Though Suimei had no way of knowing
what it implied at the time.
... And so, it could be said that the magician
Yakagi Suimei's battle, started on this day.
Chapter 1
The Dragonnewt in the Moonlight
The complete stillness of the black tree forest
prevented any from trespassing. But along with the
sounds of a thundering blaze and conflicting air
currents, the forest had fallen into an incandescence
so bright it could burn one's eyes.
Right after Suimei and Hatsumi defeated the
demon general Vuishta, the dragonnewt Eanru
suddenly appeared and fired off a dragon's roar. And
because of that, the trees of the forest were burned to
ash, and all that was left was smouldering fires and
embers, a complete ruin where one could no longer
tell what was there before. Looking up at the
heavens, the colour of the blaze threatening the
evening looked like red waves under the darkness.
Everything present except for Suimei and Hatsumi
was blown away by the power of the dragon's roar.
The ruins of the hero summoning ritual that Suimei
had been looking for vanished without a trace.
Both of their gazes were lined up on Eanru above
the flames. His body could be described as a young
man who seemed to be an intellectual. He was
slender and elegant. Coupled together with his long
green hair which did not flow along his back, he
could easily be mistaken for an aristocrat who had
nothing to do with battle. However, in truth, he held
enough strength to blow away multiple demons with
a single hand and his feet were firmly planted into
the ground like the roots of a large tree.
The fighting spirit held within his body also did not
match his appearance at all. His scientifically
inexplicable pressure was conquering all in their
surroundings. Hatsumi had her blade aimed at his
eyes as the dancing flames damaged her golden hair.
Without loosening the tension born of her vigilance,
she sharpened her green eyes like a blade, and
questioned Eanru.
“You'll have me, come with you...?”
“That's right. I cannot reveal the reason yet, but I
need your power.”
“I believe the power of a little girl like myself
obviously does not amount to much though?”
“If it was only your power. However, you have
another power within you other than just the power
held by your own body. Am I wrong?”
The implications behind his words were likely
pointing towards Hatsumi's powers as a hero.
However, just what did he need the hero's power
for...?
“But, from how things went just now, it doesn't
look like you want it because you want to defeat the
demons right?”
“Naturally. Those guys are completely secondary.
If things are carried out well, they are fated to
disappear partway through anyways.”
Eanru spoke fearlessly, and it seemed his goal was
different from the reason the hero was summoned to
this world for in the first place. However...
“Frankly speaking, you're too suspicious. What's
with the 'I'll have you come with me?' Regardless of
my consent?”
“Because to us, it is necessary.”
“Don't you think it's normal to build up trust
beforehand?”
“I never had any delusions of sweet talking you so
that you would come with me after you believed me.
At any rate, I have no intention of treating you
politely. I don't care what you think about it.”
“What do you mean? What do you intend on
making me do?”
“I said that I cannot reveal the reason... But, it's
nothing much, it simply means you'll be used by us.”
“Treating people like they're objects...”
Listening to Eanru's manner of speaking,
Hatsumi's face visibly distorted as she took offence to
his words. People who wouldn't get mad at being
told they were just going to be used generally didn't
exist. On the other hand, Suimei, who was
protecting Hatsumi behind him slightly to the side,
looked directly at Eanru with a piercing red gaze,
and cut into their conversation.
“Aren't those shady parts something you don't talk
about and try to trick us about? Isn't it the
established tactic to use sweeter words to invite her if
you want her to come along?”
“You certainly have a point. But, the fact of the
matter is that we will use the hero. I have no
intention of fooling you.”
“Mu...?”
Despite being unable to reveal the reasons for his
suspicious request, he was still completely open
about this point. Suimei wrinkled his brow at that
somewhat mismatched interaction with Eanru.
“Though before that, first is, this.”
As Eanru spoke, he turned towards Suimei as if the
hero was a completely secondary objective.
“Man in black. I would like to hear your name.”
“Mine?”
“That's right. The name of the one who splendidly
defended against my howl. I must ask this of you
without fail.”
Eanru spoke while his unwavering eyes shined like
emeralds as they looked right at Suimei.
“Is that, something that you have to hear
beforehand no matter what?”
“Isn't it obvious? Desiring the name of another is a
courtesy reserved for the strong. Could it be you
intend on giving me a boring answer like you have
no name worth giving?”
Implying that such a reply would be a complete
disappointment, he was wrapped up in a bottomless
well of fighting spirit. However, showing courtesy
beforehand was something that lined up with the
etiquette of magicians as well. Suimei had no reason
to refuse, so conforming with that etiquette, he
began speaking.
“A magician affiliated to the Society, Yakagi
Suimei... To line it up better for you guys, would it be
better to say it as Suimei Yakagi?
As Suimei spoke, for some reason, Eanru's
eyebrow twitched as it jumped up.
“You said Suimei Yakagi?”
“That's right?”
Suimei was wondering what was wrong with his
name. While he was baffled by Eanru's reaction, the
power overflowing from Eanru's body was suddenly
dispelled.
“I see. So the one who did in Romeon was you...”
“Ah?”
“No, I just thought that I owed you both my
gratitude and an apology. To do so while postured
for battle would be inappropriate.”
There wasn't an ounce of his fighting spirit left as
Eanru spoke. But setting that aside, what held
Suimei's curiosity more strongly was―
“What do you mean? I may just be hearing you
wrong, but did you just say Romeon?”
“That's right. The elf Romeon. The man who
served as a librarian in the Imperial University's
Library. It is exactly who you are thinking of.”
Eanru confirmed Suimei's bewildered suspicions.
On the other hand, Hatsumi, who knew nothing of
what they were talking about, was completely
treated like an outsider. However, Suimei was the
same in that he didn't know what Eanru was trying
to say.
“Gratitude and an apology, about that guy?”
“The incident that Romeon brought about in the
Empire, I heard you were the one to bring an end to
it. For bringing about a clear end to the depravity of
a fellow member of the organization I belong to, I
must offer you our gratitude as a representative.”
And then, with a light bow of the head which
could even be considered a nod...
“―We are in your debt.”
“... In other words, that guy is one of your
companions?”
“That's right. He is a comrade who aimed for the
same ideal as us. Or at least, he was.”
His feelings of camaraderie towards Romeon were
already a thing of the past. Hearing of Romeon,
Suimei's distrust towards Eanru only grew stronger,
but having said that, he knew that before Romeon
touched upon darkness, he held honest desires.
However...
“I don't really get it, but if you're going to
apologize, then you should have at least properly
gripped his leash that much tighter. No matter how
you put it, that guy couldn't be saved you know?”
“You're precisely right, I can't say anything in our
defence. That guy's will―No, our inability to see
through the fact that he had been taken in by the
darkness, is all because of our oversight.”
“From the way you're talking, you're saying that
uproar wasn't your real intent, was it?”
“By and large it is exactly as you say. Though
naturally I'm not talking about the uproar that
happened in the Empire, but about the harm that
came upon that young girl.”
In other words, the uproar in the Empire was
something he, no, from the way he spoke, it would
by 'they,' had something to profit off of. So during
that incident, that meant the damage done to
everyone except for Liliana and Rogue was―
“I seem to have spoken too much.”
“I wouldn't mind if you spoke even more though.”
“I'll have to refrain from doing so. Your intuition
is too sharp, even when you are panicking, you are
still shrewd.”
Eanru spoke as he revealed a sharp gaze within his
eyes. As expected, this man had completely seen
through Suimei's timid attitude. And then, Eanru's
eyes suddenly shook with sorrow, as he sighed about
something regrettable.
“Romeon was someone we were originally
supposed to dispose of ourselves. However, before we
could make our move, you ended up defeating him.
We cannot even pay you back.”
The words he tacked on at the end, after all this
time, only sounded like an excuse, and he sighed...
His voice sounded like he was ashamed of his own
failures and self-deprecating himself. However, there
was something Suimei was more curious about.
“I get what you're saying about Romeon's case.
But, how do you know that I defeated that guy?
There shouldn't have been anybody present
observing us at the library that time right?”
“Let's just say that our ability to gather
information is just that good.”
They were bold words. But, just as he said, there
was likely no mistaking the strength of their
intelligence network. There wasn't much evidence
that Suimei was there. Having heard all that he had
to, Suimei lightly shrugged his shoulders as he spoke
once more.
“Hey, if you're that thankful for it, could you
maybe just step aside?”
“I refuse. There's my goal in bringing along the
hero, but above all else, I have an interest in you. In
that power you hold which overwhelmed Romeon
after he fell into darkness.”
“... Tch! Give me a break, seriously.”
As expected, Eanru pointed a ferocious gaze and
smile towards Suimei like a carnivore who had
found their prey. Exactly like Graziella, or even more
so than her, he was the type who found enjoyment
from battle. A dragon kin, and a battle maniac. To
Suimei, it was the type of person he did not want to
deal with the most right behind lunatics. Seeing
Suimei's harsh grimace like he was chewing on
something sour, Eanru suddenly narrowed his eyes
like he found it curious.
“I don't really understand, but why are you so
frightened? If you hold that much power, then
there's no need to show that much cowardice right?
How strange.”
“Mind your own business. I've got my own
circumstances to deal with.”
“Is that how it is...? Well fine, it's about time to
begin, but how will you come at me? I don't mind if
you both come at once you know?”
“So a fight's just predetermined?”
“From what we have been talking about, it's more
than obvious that the young hero has no intent of
quietly coming along with me. In that case, is it not
evident that I must now take her along by force?”
“...”
“There's no need to make such a grim face. If you
don't like it, then all you have to do is win against
me. It's a simple matter.”
Eanru gave a clear and simple answer towards
Suimei's scowling. And then, he once more fearlessly
wrapped his body in fighting spirit.
★
―Even though the conversation was fixed on her,
in truth, the conversation had completely cast her
aside and continued on.
In this unreasonable situation, Kuchiba Hatsumi
held on to her anger and many anxieties as she
pointed the tip of her blade at the newly arrived
enemy.
That enemy was a young man named Eanru who
was a dragonnewt. He plainly told her to come with
him, but wouldn't speak of the reason, and the
conversation had devolved into a battle.
On the other hand, bearing the full brunt of the
fighting spirit that man was letting out, Yakagi had
a cold sweat coming down his brow just as when
Eanru first showed up. The face he was making was
as if he had just met someone he definitely did not
want to meet. There was no fear showing on the
surface, but unlike the time he faced off against the
demon general Vuishta, she could see fear
dominating his heart.
Even now, Yakagi's index and middle fingers were
restlessly and rubbing against each other while he
fixedly kept his gaze on Eanru without faltering for a
moment. Hatsumi then called out to him from
behind.
“Yakagi. I'll take the front.”
If they couldn't avoid the battle, then their strategy
should remain the same as last time. She would
leave the support from the rear to him, while she
would take the position of vanguard. It was a
strategy which was obvious for a mage and a
swordsman. However, Yakagi fired out a strict voice
without even turning around.
“No. Step back. Just this time, you can't.”
“What are you saying? Isn't it better to fight
together? Aren't you making that kind of expression
because he's a bad opponent?”
“...”
“Hey!”
“... Yeah, that's right. He's a bad opponent. He's to
the point where he's bringing back up the absolute
worst trauma for me.”
After taking out her irritation on him, she realized
something from Yakagi's trembling voice. Right
now, the reason he was rubbing his fingers together,
was not because he was unable to calm down, but
because he was trembling in fear.
“... Are you that scared?”
“I'm scared. Cause at that time too, the opponent
was a dragon kin.”
“Is that, when Yakagi's father?”
“That's right. At that time we won, so I thought I
wouldn't have to overcome this again, but I was
naive. Thinking that I'm going to lose something
once more, I can't stop shaking.”
The reason he was sweating and shaking in fear,
was not just because he was standing in front of
someone strong. He held a deep seated fear of what
could be waiting before the defeat itself, for what the
defeated have to give up, and for having to face that
once more. Since he feared defeat like that, all the
more, it made sense for them to fight together. And
as Hatsumi was silently conveying that thought to
him...
“No, it's fine. Leave this one to me. This guy is
different from that demon. He's a being on a
different dimension. If you still had your memories it
would be one thing, but for you who cannot pull out
all of the Kuchiba's techniques and dharani and all of
your experiences up to this point from the depths of
your mind, this guy will be far too much for you to
handle.”
“But even so.”
“I've only fought against those demons earlier, but
you've been fighting constantly haven't you? After
going to the fortress to relieve them, you should have
been fighting non-stop ever since. Even if you think
you're fine, your concentration will be worn out.”
“That's not.”
True, and in the middle of trying to say that,
Yakagi then cut her off.
“That's my line. In reality, right now, how long
has it been since you've taken your eyes off him?”
As he said this, she suddenly realized. Just as
Yakagi had said, she had been completely focused on
their conversation. If at that time, Eanru made his
move, her reaction would be late, and she would fall
victim to the first blow. The fact that she was not
properly vigilant was proof that her concentration
had been worn down. Realizing her own
carelessness, she swallowed her saliva hard. Without
saying anything more, Yakagi stepped forward. As if
protecting her from the unbeatable opponent in front
of them, his back spread out in front of her eyes.
She had more to say, but the words wouldn't come
out of her mouth. As she tried to let out her voice,
she unconsciously kept her mouth shut tight. The
reason her words were stolen from her, was because
of that back.
That wide back like he was obstructing her from
the fight, overlapped with something she saw in her
dreams multiple times. Though the back she saw in
her dreams was much, much smaller. But even so,
the back in her dreams looked far larger than it
actually was. Perhaps, to her eyes, that back just
appeared to be that much more reliable.
“Ah―”
At that time. In that dream. It was same as that
past that she would recall in her sleep. It hadn't
changed. That figure which put itself forward to
protect her from an incoming threat. The profile of
the young man's face who she held earnest
aspirations for. That gentle expression and kind smile
which told her not to worry. Standing up against the
stray dog before them, it was a tiny but priceless
courage. Therefore, that thought came back to her.
―I hated being the one who was always protected,
isn't that why I became stronger?
“U, guu...”
At the sudden pain in her head, her knees folded.
After a thunderous noise reverberated in her mind
for an instant, the next thing she heard was the
sound of her knee striking the ground. Perhaps the
sudden recurrence of a memory put a heavy burden
on her mind. However, that question which caused
that electric shock like pain, immediately vanished
somewhere. And then, she could hear Yakagi's voice.
“Hatsumi? What's wrong? Are you alright?”
“U-uun. It's nothing.”
“Then step back... I'm begging you.”
The voice that quietly pleaded this of her, was
certainly heavy. That was not from its persuasive
power, but because she realized that it was a petition
from his heart, so she no longer had any will to cling
on. Silently nodding back to him, Hatsumi took her
distance. While she was doing so, he showed slight
signs of relief. After she got a fair distance away,
Yakagi fired off provocative words towards Eanru.
“You sure waited for us politely.”
“It wouldn't be interesting to make a surprise
attack for this long awaited fight right? To properly
enjoy a fight, it's only proper that it begins fairly.”
“It's a world I don't get. Despite having a mission,
you're just completely neglecting it.”
“No matter what battle a warrior faces, isn't a
battle something that must be carried out in one's
own style? No matter what price needs to be paid to
do so. Is it different for you?”
As Eanru spoke with dignity, as expected, Yakagi
replied in a provocative tone.
“A magician's fight is one where we attack the
enemy when they're unguarded. Testing each other
out is one thing, but in a fight to the death there ain't
such a thing as fair and square.”
“So attacking the enemy unguarded is your style
huh. Certainly that is similar to those mages who are
unable to fight head on. However, is that something
you should reveal beforehand?”
“That's for you to think about. Do your best to
suspect anything and everything.”
As Yakagi's expression went from showing fear
towards the impending crisis to bearing his fangs,
the surroundings began to shake unnaturally.
Perhaps as evidence of the extreme instability of the
physical laws in that place, the area around him
crackled as blue flashes of lightning like electric
currents flickered. Due to the change in the
electromagnetic field, debris and soot floated into the
air and vanished as they were used a medium for the
lightning to pass through. Everything began to
shake. As Hatsumi put her hands to the floor, she
could feel her body contracting as if enduring a
severe earthquake. And Yakagi Suimei quietly
opened his mouth at the centre of that mysterious
phenomenon.
“―Archiatius Overload.” (Mana Furnace, Load
Activation)
Without being drowned out by the thunderous
shaking, a chant with a mysterious echo to it rang in
the air. And immediately after that, mana and the
ether wind born of it explosively fired out of Yakagi's
body, and a powerful shockwave broke out as if an
actual explosion had just occurred, blowing anything
and everything away.
Hatsumi stabbed the tip of her sword in the
ground, and used it to support herself as she endured
the blast, and from her thinly opened eyes, she could
see Yakagi leap into the sky. Perhaps because he was
using magic which allowed him to fly in the sky, he
seemed to be able to freely control his movements in
mid-air, and after taking a trajectory like he was
flapping his imaginary wings in the wind a few
times, from what she could see, he came to a stop.
Seeing this, Eanru raised his voice in admiration.
The reason he had a smile on his face was likely
because he thought it was an interesting technique.
Even after having air superiority taken from him, he
still seemed to have plenty of composure. In regular
circumstances, this would put him at a considerable
disadvantage, but just as Yakagi had said, because
he was an enemy in another dimension, her
common sense did not likely apply.
“That is some excellent mana. The last time my
heart throbbed so much would be back with the
'Man-Eating Evil.'”
After Eanru spoke with a faint smile on his face, as
if the two had arranged to do so beforehand, they
each fired out their words.
“Here I come.”
“Now come―”
As Eanru and Yakagi's voices overlapped, the
curtain of the battle was raised.
―However, the first thing that Hatsumi saw, were
Yakagi's movements completely beyond her
expectations. From what she had seen before, the
way a mage fought was to constantly keep their
enemy at a safe distance and fire out magic from
long range. That way was safe, and made fighting
easier.
But right now, Yakagi's way of fighting did not
follow that trend. After flying into the sky, it would
have been fine to just fire off magic from a place that
Eanru could not reach. But in spite of that, he began
to fly around Eanru's vicinity without firing any
magic. He was throwing away his own advantage.
Despite having more combat experience than her,
she couldn't understand the reason that he would
dare to do so.
Just as she thought that man was just flying
around the sky as he zipped about, once in a while
he would land as he crouched down, and would once
more leap into the air and repeat his actions. When
he changed course in the air, he fluttered in the air
softly with a very small break in movement. And for
some reason, he seemed like he was moving in a
way as if to bewilder his opponent.
On the other hand, Eanru, who was facing those
movements as an enemy, was conducting himself
skillfully. To him, an attack could come from any
direction in an entire hemisphere. He had to be wary
of the possibility that an attack could come from
every single direction that could come to mind.
However, whenever Yakagi entered his blind spots,
he immediately coped with it, and evaded. On top of
that, the low powered magic Yakagi had been firing
off to keep him in restraint seemed to have no effect,
and even when he took it head on he would just
make a nonchalant expression.
And then, there was his attacks. Matching up with
Yakagi who was firing short ranged magic and
drawing nearer, he would leap in aiming for the
moment Yakagi landed. He moved with the
sharpness of a bird of prey rushing in on its target.
Just like a green thunderclap, he came in from
above, and fell downwards. Right before reaching
Yakagi, he would regain his form as a person, and
attack. It was as if he was a god of thunder. This
intersection repeated many times, when finally, the
thunderclap caught Yakagi's figure.
“Tch―”
As Yakagi clicked his tongue, he snapped his
fingers. The air in front of the approaching
thunderclap exploded, but the thunderclap passed
through it with no resistance at all, and caught him.
Before Eanru's far too speedy fierce attack, Yakagi
did not seem to have time to spin any words
together. Without being able to put up his defensive
magic, Eanru's open palm attack swooped down on
him.
And just as expected, it's destructive power was
tremendous. That Yakagi, as if he was a pinball
struck by a plunger, was sent flying all the way to
the trees that the dragon's roar did not reach.
... Watching that spectacle, Hastumi held her
breath, and the sound of her swallowing could be
easily heard. If he didn't land properly, it would be
fatal. However, it did not seem that was all there was
to Eanru's attack. The moment Yakagi crashed into
the trees and the ground, the black wood trees,
plants, and even the ground itself turned to pulp and
were smashed to pieces.
“You're kidding...”
Hatsumi could not believe the scene happening
before her eyes. Just how could that reliable man be
defeated so easily? Obstinately refusing to fall into
despair, she strongly gazed in the direction he was
blown away, but even after the cloud of dust
dispersed, there was nothing there but the vestiges of
destruction―
“Yakagi!!”
“... Don't scream like that. I'm alive.”
“Eh―?”
As she let out a scream like she thought he had
been completely done in, she could hear a voice
coming from another place. As she turned towards
that voice, standing there while holding down his
stomach and leaning forwards a bit, was Yakagi. He
seemed to be healing his wound with magic. While
sweat was pouring down his brow, a pale green light
was coming out of his hand holding down his
stomach.
“―I thought I managed to get you with that one
though.”
“As expected, you can use the draconic eye huh...”
“As expected would be my line. Knowing that you
moved around to try and run from my sight.
However, is it not careless to stop just to heal your
wounds?”
Eanru boldly warned him as he criticized Yakagi's
fault. However, Yakagi did not seem to think that
was the case.
“I wonder about that?”
“―Nu?”
As Yakagi spoke while making a face like he was
laughing scornfully at Eanru, for some reason,
Eanru let out a puzzled groan. Immediately
following that, Eanru staggered, and then shook his
head like he was trying to shake something off of it.
Hatsumi couldn't tell what happened at all. His
reaction was like he was suddenly stricken by
dizziness or vertigo. And while that was happening,
she suddenly realized something.
“A picture of an eye?”
On the ground right next to Yakagi, different from
the one used when they had defeated Vuishta, a
simple picture modelled after an eye was drawn
there. Looking at it carefully, copies of the same
picture were drawn on the ground all over.
“It's a picture of a nazar bonjuk, a charm against
the evil eye. Since the draconic eye's origin is based
on the concept of the evil eye, this will avert it. I'm
not just recklessly fighting here you know?”
“What a surprise, to think that there is a means of
defending against this. Could it be that I came across
an unfavourable opponent?”
Behind those words, Eanru was stifling his joyful
laughter. Seeing that he was completely joking
around, Yakagi scowled at him like he was being
annoying.
“Shut up. It's seriously unfair that I can't properly
put up a fight unless I take the time to do something
like this.”
“I guess so. Generally, everyone I meet is simply
unable to cover for that difference between us, but
you really do know a lot about a technique that a
human should know nothing about.”
“Humans from this world, right?”
“I see! You are a citizen of another world huh. No
wonder the magic you use is different from the
magic used here. The reason you are intimate with
the hero, is also because of this right?”
“That's how it is. That's why I won't let you take
Hatsumi with you.”
“In that case, it is only natural. However, I also
have a reason that I must bring her along for no
matter what.”
As he stopped speaking for a moment, Eanru
slowly took up his stance once more.
“I won't ask for forgiveness. I'm more than aware
that I'll be resented from the very beginning.”
“I can tell that much. After starting and coming so
far, I don't intend to bitch and whine about it. I'll at
least have you let me speak frivolously and be
disagreeable though.”
And then, Yakagi boldly stuck out his tongue as he
wiped off his sweat from the fear that he was unable
to escape from. Seeing him like that, Eanru smiled.
“That's good. At times like this, the type who
whine and complain that I'm mistaken and are
unwilling to accept defeat are in the majority
though.”
“Unfortunately, I'm not very good at appealing to
my opponent's emotions you see?”
“You sure can talk for someone who seems to
specialize in talking impudently.”
“Shut it.”
Saying that, Yakagi snapped his fingers. The air
explosion marked the opening to the second act of
their increasingly ferocious battle like a violent signal
gun.
★
―After one of Eanru's moves was sealed, just as he
would expect, the attacks of the mage before him
grew even more intense than before.
Just as Suimei Yakagi had said, this was likely
because he was freed from having to spend time to
make preparations. He was still racing through the
sky while touching down on the ground
intermittently, but the magic that he was firing out
had become stronger, and both his casting speed and
frequency had doubled. All of that was within the
realm of expectations that Eanru had, but that was
not what he wanted to complain about.
The point that deserved high praise from this man
named Suimei Yakagi, was that he knew of the way
to fight against dragonnewts, and that he seemed
more knowledgeable of it than the dragonnewts
themselves. Whenever he drew close, he would
absolutely never come in close enough to be within
range of Eanru's fists. He fought well beyond the
distance that one could measure by eye and kept that
distance.
Normally, when Eanru swung his fist, just like
when he blew away the demons, the wave of wind
that followed would be enough to blow away
absolutely everything in its path. But that man was
moving around in a way like he had completely seen
through this power as well and would not get caught
up in it.
And then there was the howl wave Eanru used
right as they met. Suimei Yakagi called it a dragon's
roar when he yelled, but in reality, he clearly
understood the true nature behind the howl wave. If
he was a normal human who knew nothing of the
dragonnewts' techniques, he would have done
nothing but stand there dumbfounded as he was
evaporated. But this man quickly sensed what was
happening during Eanru's preparatory stage, and
played his defensive hand immediately.
Speaking of things he knew of beforehand, this
also applied to his dragon's eye. Judging that Eanru
held the technique to crush all within his line of sight
by just looking at it, he jumped around the
surroundings without staying within Eanru's gaze
for any extended period of time. And then, he
splendidly prepared the technique to break through
it.
All of these techniques were certain kill strikes. Of
course, they were difficult to understand if one were
to only hear of them. All of them were techniques
where even if you understood how they worked,
most anybody would be unable to evade them and
would just die on the spot. But this man slipped
through all of them. And he was continuing to fight
Eanru just as he was.
“Fu, fufufu...”
Without being aware of it, Eanru's laugh began to
leak out. Before him, he could see the figure of a
man who was using magic incessantly. Suimei
Yakagi tapped the ground with his finger, and
behind him, magic circles which differed from the
ones on the ground appeared. The magic circles that
were appearing continuously seemed to be
substitutes for chanting. From those circular shapes,
magic was fired out, the attributes they carried
varied, and a completely unknown type of attack
filled Eanru's field of vision to capacity as it came
rushing in.
And just like that, just like when the fighting
began, his predictions were all being betrayed one
after the other. His casting speed and frequency were
good. However, what he was unable to unravel was
Suimei Yakagi's consecutive use of magic. Eanru
understood that magic casting speed was something
that could be done quicker by performing the spell
quicker, thus he was not particularly surprised at
that fact. However, the fact that he was not taking a
single breath was something he could not grasp at
all.
When magic was used consecutively, mana had to
be expelled from one's body to do so. As mana is
transmitted to the outside, body heat would also
increase. The body would confuse this with a
deficiency of air in the atmosphere, and cause one to
be short of breath. Normally, because of the time it
took to chant spells, most mages never encountered
this situation. However, it was supposed to be
unavoidable that a mage had to take a break when
using magic consecutively.
But this did not apply to the man before his eyes.
In spite of the container of his soul being nothing but
the body of a human, Eanru could not hear the
sound of the cycle of inhaling and exhaling coming
from his mouth.
In its stead, he could once in a while see a pure
white vapour made of mana being expelled from his
mouth. He was guessing that there was likely some
sort of strange organ inside that body responsible for
all this.
The consecutive use of magic was a menace, but
in a sense, this non stop attack could be said to be
Suimei Yakagi's means of defence. From the hail of
fire, lightning and light magic, one would assume
that he was going on the offence, but it could also be
interpreted that the incessant attacks were a means
of keeping Eanru restrained without allowing him to
attack on his own. As evidence of that, Suimei
Yakagi had yet to fire off any magic that could
deliver the final blow.
“If you aren't going to push in, then I'll be the one
to make a move.”
As Eanru spoke, he stomped on the ground. And as
if an explosion occurred, the surface of the ground
split and sent large lumps of earth flying. With that
one move, he slipped through the magic, and when
he arrived right in front of Suimei Yakagi, Eanru
could see him swallow his saliva as he trembled.
“Dammit, you move too fast!”
Suimei Yakagi let out a shriek in complaint on the
spur of the moment. As expected, he was quite
flustered. Perhaps due to some terrible memories,
this man held a deep seated fear towards Eanru, no,
towards those known as dragonnewts.
However, that was none of Eanru's concern.
Aiming for his lower jaw, he let out a kick. To evade
the attack from below, Suimei Yakagi threw his
body to the ground. Just as Eanru thought that he
had discarded any thoughts of landing properly,
because he could freely fly through the air, his
posture did not seem to matter at all. Being pulled by
an invisible force, his body took an unnatural path
through the air, and Eanru chased after him with a
backhanded fist.
Suimei Yakagi anticipated the serious blow from
the waves, but even so, they still caught up to him.
The wave of power blown towards him struck his
leg. And at the same time, Eanru could hear the
sound of bones breaking. The immediate moment
after Suimei Yakagi made an anguished expression,
a green circle with letters and numbers inscribed
within it took shape around the broken bones. It was
recovery magic. Every time he was dealt a serious
wound, Suimei Yakagi would use that magic to heal
the damage.
―The fact that he couldn't get enough offence in,
was just the same for Eanru as it was for Suimei
Yakagi.
As that self-deprecating thought passed through
Eanru's head, fire magic was shot out towards him.
“Mere desperation!”
“Just take it!”
He let out a shout like the attack was meant to
finish Eanru off, however, the actual attack was
somewhat different. The large fire magic which
blocked his entire field of view was nothing but a
smokescreen, just an inch in front of Eanru's head, a
tiny magic circle took shape.
“Tch―”
It was too close. The moment Eanru's mind
judged that he wouldn't get off lightly if he was hit
by that, his body reflexively took evasive action.
However, the moment he distanced himself from the
tiny magic circle, another tiny magic circle took
shape, and just like that, they chased after him. No
matter how fast he moved, how much he changed
directions, whether he took to the skies or not, the
tiny magic circles formed a line as they chased after
him perfectly. Thinking that it looked like some out
of place child's toy as they formed an accordion like
shape in the sky, those magic circles finally pointed
their fangs towards him.
―'Chain Explode.' Along with that keyword,
consecutive explosions erupted. In the blink of an
eye, they caught Eanru's face.
“Gu, Ah...”
Eanru took evasive action, but he was too close to
avoid the shockwave. Its power was on the same
level as a strike from Jillbert's superhuman strength.
Just as he would expect, he was unable to endure it
and threw back his head. However, it would not be a
hindrance to the battle. After lightly shaking his
head, he could see an ultramarine light coming
down from the starry night sky.
―Did he set this attack up beforehand?
The moment Eanru sensed the impending crisis,
Suimei Yakagi began speaking.
“―Adcentum transcription. Augoeides randomizer
trigger.” (Brilliant spell simplified operations.
Randomly deploy bombs from number one to a
hundred. Strategic bombing.)
Immediately following that, a hail of light fell
from the sky. The magic lights falling from the sky
reminded him of the falling stars he saw in the
Empire, but it seemed to be a different kind of spell.
Having lost his chance to evade, Eanru overflowed
his entire body with mana and took a defensive
stance. Soon, the magic would come to an end, but...
“This isn't the end of it.”
And just as he said, Suimei Yakagi prepared his
next magic. Before Eanru could notice, Suimei
Yakagi had leaped backwards and was weaving his
words while taking a landing posture.
“―Fiamma est lego. Vis Wizard. Hex agon Aestua
Sursum. Impedimentum Mors.” (Assemble flames.
Like the cry of the magician's resentment. Give form
to the agony of death and burst into flames, bestow
the one who obstructs me with a dreadful destiny.)
Many red magic circles were forming in the air,
and at Suimei Yakagi's feet, a single large magic
circle was expanding. The shape filled with words in
the centre of the magic circle and the two fold circle
on the outer circumference of it began revolving in
opposite directions, and the ground around it was
wrapped up in flames. The red blaze was reflected in
Suimei Yakagi's eyes. The red hot brilliance held a
zealous purpose. And the moment Eanru was
captivated by that scene...
“―Fiamma. O Ashurbanipal!” (Shine. Oh
Ashurbanipal's revolving stone!)
He crushed the light in his right hand. At the same
time that gem like object was smashed to pieces, a
flame burst out of the large magic circle, the blazes
in their surroundings were repelled, and the earth
boiled like red hot iron.
The common sense that dragonnewts were
immune to fire came to Eanru's mind, but at the
same time, a bad premonition struck Eanru's back.
Rather than common sense which was useless on
the battlefield, he put more trust in that sensation,
and before the boiling earth could catch his feet,
before the snake like extending flames could entwine
him, he put all of his strength into leaping back.
He managed to evade, but the heat spreading in
the air scorched his body. What he felt on his skin,
was a pulsing pain that he had never felt before in
his life. As he thought, this was no simple flame. It
was likely that other than just the outbreak of fire,
there was another curse applied to it. Judging that it
would be bad to take the fire head on, alarm bells
began to ring deep within his head.
Piercing through the flames in front of him, was
Suimei Yakagi. Just as he was caught in
bewilderment at the sight of a mage closing in on
him on his own, the man in front of his eyes turned
into smoke and dispersed.
Seeing that, Eanru once more let out a smile.
Before he could ascertain where the smoke went as it
dispersed in all directions, he could feel a presence
behind him. As he hastily turned around, Suimei
Yakagi's figure was right in front of him with a
small magic circle in the palm of his hand.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOH!” “HAAAAAAAAA!”
The two of them let out their fighting spirit at the
same time. A crash of howls. Meeting the palm
thrust with the small magic circle in it, was the
dragonnewt's fist. Immediately following the
collision of power, an explosive shockwave broke out
and sent Eanru's body flying.
As he corrected his posture and looked forward,
perhaps because he also suffered from the same
shockwave, Suimei Yakagi was also sent flying
away.
―Just how much will this fight make his heart
dance? Eanru had not had a good fight like this since
the day he was born. To think that he would be
blessed right now with the ceaseless fight that he had
been seeking all this time.
“What's so funny?”
“Hm? Was I laughing? Aah, no, it's just such a
battle. Doesn't it make you happy?”
“Now that I think of it, you're just that kind of guy
huh...”
Suimei Yakagi spoke like it was an annoyance, he
muttered 'battle maniac...' quietly. Those were likely
words that described people like Eanru. However, to
him, those loathsome words spat out of his enemy's
mouth were unmistakably words of praise. Being
considered a formidable enemy by the strong gave
meaning to everything he had accumulated to this
point, it allowed him to accept himself.
Therefore, this battle had significance. The
meaning of life Eanru sought was certainly right in
this place. The only regret he had, was the fact that
the fate he had with this man was happening at
exactly this time. It was an unparalleled fortune that
he was embroiled in such a fight in such an
unexpected place. However, because he was in the
middle of a mission, he was thinking that he couldn't
fight until his heart was content, and he couldn't
help but feel unhappy about it.
“―Aah, it's beyond my control.”
It seemed that the voice that he quietly leaked out
reached Suimei Yakagi. Due to his tone being in
complete contrast to his earlier ecstatic voice, Suimei
Yakagi's brow noticeably wrinkled. However, for
some reason, he wasn't shooting out any magic.
Despite the fact that he had been firing ceaselessly
until now and that he showed no signs of being short
of breath, it seemed that he was taking a short break
in the battle.
It was also possible that he was simply preparing a
technique, but concluding he would deal with it,
Eanru stepped forward. Eanru began with
consecutive strikes. However, the mage before him
seemed accustomed to not only close range combat,
but also to fighting at the range of a fist fight as he
skillfully warded off Eanru's strikes. For a mage, this
was a fatal range, but he was able to deal with it
effectively, it left Eanru astonished.
However, even so, he was poorly matched against
Eanru who specialized in fist fights. Naturally, a
human could never compete with the physical
strength of a dragonnewt. The arms he was using to
ward off Eanru's strikes were showing signs of
becoming red, and in a flash, they were becoming
more and more tattered.
“Gu, ah...”
While letting out a groan, Suimei Yakagi
immediately took some distance between them. After
Eanru refrained from chasing after him, Suimei
Yakagi looked back with a puzzled gaze.
“It is such a good feeling to have a difficult battle.”
“Ha?”
“Isn't it? If the opponent is that much more
difficult to deal with, you'll be able to fight that
much longer. And then, it is possible to test out all
the techniques you have been fostering too.”
“... Bewitching others with techniques and having
that reciprocated is certainly enjoyable. Though
that's only if it wasn't in a situation like this.”
“Agreed. Don't we unexpectedly get along?”
“No, my grief is different from yours. There's no
mistaking it.”
“That kind of thing is trivial.”
“... You're that right? Your personality is one
where you just get everything you're not interested
in over with quickly right? You really do have quite
the character, seriously.”
“Fu.”
While amusing himself with their conversation,
even now, cold sweat was pouring down Suimei
Yakagi's forehead. But, it was also a fact that his fear
was somehow becoming weaker. It was likely that
this man also became stronger just to accomplish his
goals. Even though he spoke to the contrary, their
conversations up until this point were on the same
wavelength, so he may have softened up somewhat.
Even if the places they were aiming for were
different, the thing they desired to get there was the
same. That elevated peak that nobody could reach,
and the dream which stimulated that desire. This
man had that. He was definitely looking at a dream.
“It's hard to get huh. Really. You have a different
kind of radiance from that man.”
“...?”
Just like the light within the darkness was more
dazzling than anything else, the man before his eyes
was also dazzling within the darkness. That dwarf
woman's question could certainly be said to be right
on the point.
“At any rate, you sure talk a lot.”
“Good grief, that is even surprising to me. Even
though speaking in the middle of a battle is the
height of folly―Aah, that's it isn't it, this is that. That
thing where you become overexcited and start
talking as you get worn out right?”
This useless consideration and conversation was
something Eanru had never done in a battle before.
However, the reason he was unable to stop this
excess despite that, was because it was something
hard for him to understand. Things that were hard
to understand, were important matters. If he was
exposed to it too much, he would no longer want to
destroy it, and unconsciously, he may have been
taking that into consideration. Even though he
fought for the sake of destruction, this was a
tremendous contradiction.
And then it seemed that Suimei Yakagi finished his
break. Just as Eanru was thinking that the trees
behind him were being mowed down by his magic,
they were swept away, and began flying. Pushing
through the air, numerous big trees roared through
the sky. The trunks of the black wood trees were
thick and sturdy. If a human was struck by such a
thing, it wouldn't end well―But that only applied to
humans.
“Such a thing won't even serve as a distraction to
me.”
Just as he said, he could see the shadow of Suimei
Yakagi running behind the large trees between the
gaps. After Eanru smashed the first tree trunk with
his fist, Suimei Yakagi used that opening to close in
right before his eyes. Wielding a silver sword, the
mage came in with a thrust, however―
“That won't pierce...”
The point of his blade reached Eanru's chest, but
the blade could only pierce his clothing. There was
no way a mere blade made by a human could pierce
a dragonnewt's skin. In that case, just who was the
one who would take advantage of this opening?
“I'll be taking that arm.”
Forming his hand like a blade, Eanru severed
Suimei Yakagi's right arm. Losing his dominant arm
was the price he paid for closing into close combat
where he had the disadvantage. His right arm flew
off, and blood started gushing out of the opening.
From a distance, Eanru could hear the hero's
scream. And before him, he could see the man's face
twist in anguish. However, Suimei Yakagi did not
fall back. Far from that, he stepped forwards as if to
say an opening was made by having his arm cut off.
But even this was within the range of Eanru's
expectations. Striking first, and then sacrificing one's
own flesh and bones to create an opening, was a
technique which was pretty much commonplace.
However, what he thrust out was outside of Eanru's
expectations, for some reason, it was the arm that
had been reduced to a round slice.
It wouldn't reach. It wasn't long enough. Did he
misread the distance? No, the reason he thrust
forward his right arm was likely just simple
desperation. It could be summarized as the limits of
a human, instead of thinking of it properly, they
prioritized attacking. And just at that moment,
Suimei Yakagi's mouth moved.
“Is it alright? Like this.”
―The severed right arm that was fluttering in the
air suddenly changed its trajectory, and jumped
towards Eanru. Seeing that movement, he
involuntarily made a broad grin.
“―Haha. So it's come to this?”
The reason his words were coloured in joy, was
because it was the first time in a while that a
technique completely exceeded his expectation. But
the unexpected events did not stop there, the opening
of the flying right arm lined up with the stump
Suimei Yakagi was extending and pressed against it.
“SEAAAAAAAH!”
Immediately following that, a magic circle formed
at the opening of the lined up wound, and rotated as
it gave off a green brilliance. At the same time, he
stepped into the ground intensely. The air he drew in
to its limits. The ether wind he scattered. The
breaking ground. And with a fist which was in no
way inferior to one he could make when he was
unhurt, he let out a single strike.
“T-tch!!”
The fist caught Eanru right in the face. He never
once thought that a human would hold such
destructive force in their fists. The earth beneath his
feet was unable to withstand the force on its own,
and as his feet shaved away at the earth beneath
them, he was pushed backwards a great distance.
Withstanding all of the power, he came to a stop
while still standing, and put his hand to his jaw, and
as if to check its condition, he twisted around his
neck as it cracked. Without wasting any time, Eanru
leaped into the sky and came closer again as Suimei
Yakagi let out a loathsome voice.
“Really? It pretty much didn't work at all...”
“Unfortunately, I'm quite the resilient being.”
“Despite being shaped like a person there wasn't
any damage to the brain? That's why this is a damn
scam.”
Both that complaint and the pain he received felt
good to Eanru. He pushed on his neck with his hand
and cranked it around as he once more checked on
its condition. The man who had dealt him pain that
went beyond his expectations was already making
his next move, but Eanru couldn't help but yield
himself to such a pleasant feeling that he hadn't felt
for so long. As Suimei Yakagi shot out his magic,
Eanru kicked the ground and created a grand cloud
of dust.
“You punk! Copying humans now!?”
“Not at all, a smokescreen is not to be
undervalued.”
The cloud of dust completely covered Eanru up.
He couldn't see, but with this he also couldn't be
seen. Abandoning his needless sensations, he devoted
himself completely to reading presences. The
opponent was a mage who held a vast amount of
power. If he followed the mana, he could accurately
locate Suimei Yakagi even without his eyes.
―That was as long as the person in question didn't
multiply.
“He split? No, multiplied?”
“Fast Replication, I'll be using it here―!”
It wasn't only the presence of mana that
multiplied. Within his closed field of vision, exactly
identical presences were increasing in number. It
was as if multiple Suimei Yakagi's suddenly
appeared. Right after Eanru heard his voice, the
ground suddenly broke apart.
“What―”
Eanru was tripped up. He couldn't tell what
happened. Even as he reached into his memories, he
could not find the magic's origin. The ground that
was boiled by Suimei Yakagi's fire magic was not so
weak that it would crumble so easily like that.
As he promptly focused his gaze right below his
feet, he could see a bright light made of mana. Just
when did those magic circle get set in place? As he
raised his eyes from his current crisis, he could see
Suimei Yakagi make a smile.
(I see, that light spell from before―)
What suddenly came to his mind, was that magic
which brought down a rain of light. He wasn't just
firing it down, the scars left in the earth seemed to
have become magic circles.
―Before the fight began, Suimei Yakagi said that
'a magician's fight is one where we attack the enemy
when they're unguarded.' Certainly this chain of
attacks was outside his expectations and could be
said to be a splendid tactic. Eanru did not receive a
single wound from the ground crumbling beneath
him, but he could not move well without being able
to brace his legs properly. Because of that, Suimei
Yakagi's next strike would get through.
The earth in his surroundings began to rise up.
Coiling like a vortex, it stretched out to the sky, and
then came flying in towards him. His opponent was
supposed to know that an attack of such a mass
would be ineffective against him―No, in that case
this had a different purpose.
“―Ground Seal.”
Looking up, all Eanru could see was an incessant
avalanche of dirt. Before long, it completely covered
him up.
★
... As the rising clout of dust settled down, the
ground was smoothed out without any undulations,
and at its centre was a shape like the ground had
been coiled into a whirlpool. Seeing Eanru sink
under the Ground Seal spell, Suimei could hear
Hatsumi shout in exaltation as she was convinced he
had won.
“You did it!”
“Nope.”
It was too soon to think of victory. Hatsumi could
only let a puzzled 'Eh?' at the complete contrast
between what she saw before her eyes and the way
Suimei was speaking. Suimei held out his hand and
urged her to step back, and just as he did, the
whirlpool of earth burst open with a thunderous
roar. And from the earth that once more soared into
the sky, the dragonnewt Eanru made his
appearance.
“―When I heard you say 'attack when they're
unguarded,' I thought it would be a surprise attack.
But I see, so it held this kind of meaning huh.”
As he gave out words of praise, he spoke in a
refreshing tone as if he had not received any damage
at all. Grinding his teeth secretly while seeing his
opponent like that, Suimei replied frivolously.
“It's just the difference between cowardice and
elegance.”
“My goodness, I've learned a lot from you. Since it
was standard for mages to chant and fire, my
actions have unexpectedly become quite
monotonous and dull it seems, but―It feels good to
be overthrown?”
“Well, you're welcome.”
As Suimei replied while implying he was also
saying 'Shut up,' Eanru questioned him in a puzzled
tone. At the same time, he fired off a harsh gaze with
a topaz like glint in his eye.
“You realized I wasn't defeat from that just now
right? Why did you not fire in the meantime?”
“Who knows?”
“I don't think you would be one to overlook such
an ideal opening. It was the same when your magic
unnaturally paused earlier. In that case, there must
be a reason you couldn't fire.”
“...”
“From the looks of it, it seems I hit the mark.”
Seeing that expression filled with confidence,
Suimei once more ground his teeth. It could be said
that Eanru's guess was a complete bull's-eye. Just as
he said, the reason Suimei stopped firing magic was
because he wasn't able to. Due to the consecutive use
of magic, entropy in the area was nearing its limit.
In that situation, he was unable to deal a decisive
blow, having said that, using some half assed magic
that would not cause the magic melt phenomenon to
occur would be completely futile. That's why he
chose a spell that would at least buy him some time.
Magic woven together using modern magic theory
could be cast quickly. However, it also increased
entropy greatly, so it was unable to separate itself
from the bottleneck of needing an interval between
spells. Because of that, he could end up in a situation
where he was just a single step away like he was
now. He knew of the merits and demerits, but
nevertheless, falling into this kind of situation was
vexing all the same.
After wiping off the dirt and sand from his body,
the man before his eyes once more took a combat
stance. That figure which stood in front of Suimei,
who had been blocked by his own bottleneck, was
composed and did not have a single blemish. He was
just like the very representation of a powerful being
who could not be hindered.
From his outer appearance, he reminded Suimei
more of an oriental dragon, but his fighting style
lined up perfectly with the one of a western dragon.
This also applied to the etymology of the dragon
itself, the origin of the evil eye which became the
draconic eye. Since the eight great dragon kings
from the Lotus Sutra also had poisonous eyes, he
couldn't be absolutely certain of the distinction. But
because his ground sealing spell didn't work, it was
difficult to imagine that his origins lay in those water
gods. The power to suck up and scatter the earth
came from western dragons. There was no
mistaking that fact.
Just the fact that he resembled the existence
known as a dragon posed a considerable threat to
Suimei, but what was truly dreadful were his attacks
and the weight behind them. For a while now, he
had been observing those powerful shockwave
attacks right before his eyes. It was physically
impossible to do with Eanru's slender body, but if his
weight wasn't properly reflected by his appearance, it
would be a different story. This was especially the
case for creatures which were not human, they often
carried weight far beyond how they appeared.
Therefore, it was a power different from magic, just
from pure brute strength, it held the same 'principle'
as the suprarational Long Sword of the Morning Sun
that Hatsumi used. Those attacks just held that
much power.
That man was a master in close range combat.
However, it could also be said that it was a poor
move to stay too far away from him. Looking at it
from a scientific angle, he had something like a high
output microwave shockwave combined with a noise
weapon which formed a plasma emission device.
From a magic angle, it could be described as
exponentially increasing the heat in the area and
causing forced combustion, leading to that end
result. The thing he used before the fighting began
burned their entire surroundings to nothing. Just like
his breath, it was possible to control its directionality
as well.
“Though lightning breath is way scarier...”
Suimei was reminded of a similar attack he had
seen before. It was different from the dragon's roar,
but it was also a creature who took on the shape of a
human and let out a 'breath that killed all living
beings' from the depths of its mouth. Among the
destructive organic attacks that human shaped
creatures above ground could use, it was considered
one of the most atrocious. Because it held a unique
nature which dulled defences, it was an absurd
technique which no defensive spells could dampen.
Even in the modern world, that sort of creature
which used such an excessive attack against people
existed. They could be said to be the strongest kin
which stood at the summit of the entire ecosystem.
That power far surpassed human intellect, and was
like an illusion that came right out of those legends
and fairy tales where heroes would appear. It could
be said to be a power from a completely different
dimension.
And all of those creature, without exception, took
the shape of a human. It could just be that in this
world as well, that law also existed, and the life-form
known as a dragonnewt was just one such creature.
As if to prove this, the dragonnewt Eanru began to
show movements that could not be described as
merely 'superhuman.' Eanru leaped around the
surroundings like he was toying with Suimei, even
with the eyes of a magician, he was unable to see
everything. The reason he was unable to follow
Eanru with his eyes despite Eanru's movements not
being that quick, was because he was moving in a
way that a human could not possibly imagine doing.
As the green thunderclap struck the ground and
leaped to a new location, Suimei would follow the
trajectory with his gaze, but before he could notice,
he had looked too far. When he realized and
returned his gaze backwards, the only thing he could
catch a glimpse of was the trail of light left behind
Eanru's movements. Like chasing a fly with his eyes,
he constantly lost sight of Eanru, and eventually, no
matter where he looked, he was unable to grasp
Eanru's figure.
Before these movements from another dimension,
Suimei had no hands he could play. Therefore,
Suimei decided to increase the output of his mana
furnace. With that single thought, the reactor core
within his body was released, and with that
figurative fire thrown into the furnace, his heart rate
was agitated. The throbbing sound was louder than
any other he could hear as it assaulted his body,
going even further than his limits, he pushed his
body on as far as it could.
“Just how much mana...”
Eanru was still untraceable, but he let out a voice
in admiration.
―The mana furnace was a sort of organ which
generated mana which matched the scale of a
magician's mana consumption and helped support it.
For a normal magician, the limits of their own mana
that they could use stably without triggering an
overflow, called 'regular mana,' was established.
And then, when they used magic, that regular
mana was accompanied by the mana generated by
the mana furnace, and manifested mysteries. After
regular mana was exhausted, the mana from the
furnace would overtake it and cause the magician to
run dry. The technique known as reactor core release
was used to avoid that condition by overflowing the
regular mana and raising the output of the furnace.
When that happened, up to the limits that the
magician's flesh could withstand it, it was possible to
continuously cause the mana produced to swell. And
then, when the scale of mana increases greatly, the
use of magic which consumed a tremendous
amount of mana became possible, and the effective
range would also widen. It pushed one's body to a
higher-order existence, and increased the mysteries
that one could perform.
He still couldn't see Eanru's figure. It was fatal
that he was unable to grasp his location, but he had
one way that came to mind to do so. The moment
Eanru went on the offensive was the first time
Suimei was able to identify the monster's location.
Suimei applied spells which strengthened his
physical abilities and elevated the strength of his
body. After he finished casting both of these, he
struck light lightning at Eanru's back. The strike
itself could be said to be good enough to bestow
certain death, Suimei's body was pushed well beyond
its limits, and after that strike, Eanru held his
ground. Seeing how he was not blown away, Eanru
had no openings at all, but Suimei still judged it to be
a good opportunity.
Eanru came to a stop with a fist still pushing into
his back. Before he could attempt to escape from
Suimei's domain, the surrounding atmosphere was
warped by magic. And then, changing the location of
Eanru's centre of gravity, Suimei dulled his
movements. And in no time at all, he strengthened
gravity's hold.
“―Gravitatem Bis Coniuctum!” (Gravity
Equation, Two-Fold Multiplication!)
This was not enough. Without piling up magics, he
concatenated the next magic with the previous one,
and erased the time lag between them.
“―Gravitatem Triple Contexitur!” (Gravity
Equation, Three-Fold Multiplication!)
If Eanru had even a single free moment, he would
be able to escape from the gravity cage. Thus, Suimei
could not stop his hand, mouth, or magic.
Suimei could catch a glimpse of Eanru's bitter yet
delighted face. 'Enchant me more.' 'Make me grind
my teeth harder.' Suimei could understand those
thoughts of his just from that expression. That
appearance did not waver at all even inside the
gravity cage, it could only be described as terrifying.
In that case, Suimei fired magic from the five
elements. Using the teachings of the five practices of
the Bodhisattvas which mutually helped each other
and organize the world, he manifested the chemical
elements which antagonized each other and gave
birth to destruction. After creating a defensive circle
below Hatsumi, the raging five elements gradually
reacted with each other and caused an annihilation
effect―and blew away the world.
The scale of the blast surpassed that of Eanru's
dragon roar. This time, the black wood tree forest
was scattered away from the northern Alliance
territory without a trace. However, even after
blowing away the forest, he was still unable to defeat
a dragonnewt. Seeming to have a resistance to this
sort of attack which depended completely on
destructive force, Eanru was standing outside
Suimei's range while laughing enjoyably.
The effect of the five elements was too weak, an
attack based on a higher order concept did not seem
to be able to provide a telling blow to the
dragonnewt. At the same time that Suimei came to
this conclusion, he let out a deliberately loud scream
from the pain which assaulted his back.
Unexpectedly, his feet wavered. Because of that
opening, his cold sweat turned to ice as it slipped off
his back. And before his eyes, was the figure of a
thunderclap that did not overlook even the smallest
opening.
“I've got you, Suimei Yakagi.”
Suimei immediately protected his head with his
arm, and a fist came flying through his defences and
jolted his head. The left arm he put up as defence
was bent backwards, and as if that was not enough,
each of his legs took a strike, and finally an
extraordinary kick was driven into his torso.
“Guu, ha―ah...”
Sent flying by the kick, Suimei's body rolled across
the ground. While conscious that he was rolling
around as his head was whipped around and jolted
into a haze, he immediately started to apply healing
magic to the broken parts of his body. Even as he
immediately made a comeback, Eanru's shadow was
right before his eyes. He once more showed Eanru
an opening, and it was absolutely necessary to
withstand this attack.
“Zuu, gu, gahaa....”
With every strike he received, Suimei applied
healing to his body. However, naturally, his healing
gradually could not make it in time, and the
movements of his body began to falter. While taking
strikes which could be compared to being struck by a
massive iron ball, he was reduced to tatters and sent
flying.
―I am, going to lose here? Me?
Rolling across the ground multiple times, Suimei
came to a stop lying face down. He could taste blood
and dirt in his mouth. From the consecutive wounds
without any time for a break, both his body and
heart were screaming. But even so, he tried to stand.
He clawed at the ground and grasped lumps of earth.
And then, a voice was fired at him from the front,
as if it had seen through him completely.
“Is this the end?”
“Shut up...”
“But, you can't stand right?”
“Shut up!”
“If you can't come after me, then I'll take that
woman with me, you know?”
“SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!”
“That's it! Scream! If you can never hand her over
then scream out your feelings! Howl! And lay
everything bare! There should be more to your
power than this! It isn't something that you hold
back this late in the game!”
He didn't need to be told. Just as a swordsman
drew their sword deciding that they would gladly
accept death when they did, a magician also put
their life on the line the moment they decided to take
action, and ought to burn to exhaustion both their
soul and mana.
Therefore, he stood. Until his body would was
rendered completely immobile. Until his heart
twisted and broke. Until the day that he lost sight of
that dream that he was aiming for ever since that
day with both his eyes.
“―Fiamma! Est lego! Vis Wizard! Hex agon
Aestua Sursum, Impedimentum Mors!” (Assemble
flames! Like the cry of the magician's resentment!
Give form to the agony of death and burst into
flames, bestow the one who obstructs me with a
dreadful destiny!)
“You've already shown me that magic earlier!”
That was right. He had shown him. He had shown
him, but this was the opening move.
As if replying to the thought deep within his heart,
the magic took on a different shape. As if it was a jet
engine, the fire shot out behind Suimei, and as he
grasped Ashurbanipal's stone within his right hand, a
dazzling conflagration wrapped around his arm.
Pouncing at the opening, Eanru leaped in from the
front. Showing contempt for that lapse in judgment,
Suimei slipped into the chest of the leaping
dragonnewt. As Eanru opened his eyes wide in
surprise, Suimei enacted his magic with all his
might.
“―FIAMMA! O ASHURBANIPAL!” (Shine! And
pierce through! Oh Ashurbanipal's revolving stone!)
The right hand which grasped the gem became a
fist, the flames bursting towards the back became a
mechanism to aid in acceleration, and that fist
buried itself in Eanru's solar plexus. This time more
than ever, Eanru was unable to get away from
taking damage from that fist, and was sent flying
backwards. And then, before he could regain his
posture, Ashurbanipal's flames rushed in after him.
From within those flames, Suimei could hear
Eanru's howl.
“NOT YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!”
He let out loud roar that pierced the eardrums and
which seemed like it could even blow away the
flames that were wrapping around him. Even after
receiving the brilliant radiance from the gem which
granted the fate of ruin to all living beings, the
dragonnewt's knee did not strike the ground.
In that case, their next collision was approaching.
Without basking in the lingering memory of his
magic, Suimei prepared his last hand as he gazed
towards the short ranged battle that was once more
about to begin.
Immediately, a light made of mana formed
around his right hand shaped like a blade. It sparkled
like the light of dawn, and using that, he quietly
drew out letters and symbols which would give birth
to magic.
A magic circle instantly sprung forth at his feet. As
he continued his actions, magic circles began to take
shape outside the circumference of the first. As he
wove his magic, his inescapable past rushed through
his heart. Despite having power, his heart was weak.
So on that day, that time, that battlefield, that
unrecoverable event happened.
In that place, he had lost something important. All
because as he stood before an excessively powerful
existence, all because he was unable to move. His
defences were late. Because his father protected him,
the red dragon's roar that was supposed to strike
him, ended up taking his father as a substitute.
And at that time, he succeeded his father's will. In
exchange for his own self which was not saved, he
would save the women who couldn't be saved. He
certainly swore to this. That's why, on that day, in
that place, that weak Yakagi Suimei died. That's
why―
“I'll never let anything like that happen again...”
What he wove as he muttered like he was
expelling all the air from his lungs was―a true
chant.
―The Progenitor emerges from the sky at dawn,
and accomplishes the wishes of all heaven and earth.
―To release the Apostle from his mission, and to
release the Apostle from his own hands, the
Progenitor descended before the Apostle.
As the chant was exposed, the world began to
shake. Quietly, steadily, and eventually violently,
and as if nobody was allowed to stand in that place,
greatly. Having finally shaken off the flames, Eanru
held his breath at the change in his surroundings. At
this distance, even if he ran right away, he would be
unable to stop the magic from completing.
Therefore...
―And thus the Apostle fell to the ground. Because
his wings of light were plucked.
―And thus the Apostle fell into hell. Because his
body deemed a nest of malice to be acceptable.
―And so he fell. And the Progenitor passed
Judgment, and drove the Apostle away.
―And so I pray. Just as the Progenitor
demonstrated. Yes, to manifest that infinite light
with no end just as he did.
And just as Eanru got into range―
“Everything becomes unknown and is ■■■―!”
He was screaming 'delivered.' Towards that
domain he could not see. He was howling 'delivered.'
So that he could surely grasp that infinite light in his
hand. However, that light that Suimei was trying to
grasp, was still too strong, and it was still too early.
“U, gu... Shit, DELIVEEEEEEEEEEEERED!!”
No matter how strong their will, a magic whose
words were not complete would end in failure. The
aftermath of that torrent of power and notions that
he was unable to control wrapped around the two
colliding men and caught them.
As the blinding light died down, a cold night air
blew through the battlefield. All that was there, was
the scorched earth and the carbonized wreckage of
trees that piled up as charcoal on the ground.
Looking from where he was blown away to, Eanru
spoke doubtfully.
“... What did you do? The air has reverted to how it
was a little before?”
“The aftermath, stagnated time it seems, it's
something like space rewinding. It's probably an
effect of the outbreak of low speed light. Because it
broke out, time is flowing to match it or something...
Well, that kind of thing doesn't matter...”
From the heat filling his inner organs and the red
hot feeling assaulting his throat, Suimei let out a
bloody cough. His internal organs were slightly
damaged from that just now.
But even so, the single strike that he staked
everything on had failed. What had happened here
was a far cry from what he imagined in his head.
Because he was unable to make that last sound
needed for the spell, it ended in failure. No, because
he was still insufficient to use such a magic, the last
sound needed for the spell couldn't come up.
Due to the rebound caused by magic failure,
'return over,' Suimei slowly fell to his knees. Because
he threw his entire being into this high stakes bet, he
had no spare energy left to prepare for any counter
measures. A strong numbness assaulted his body. He
would be unable to move for a while.
“...”
It was a fatal mistake in a battle, but the other side
was also not moving. No, couldn't move. It was
likely that Eanru was also wounded. He had
completely taken the surprise attack from
Ashurbanipal's flame, and he took the torrent from
the 'infinite light without end' to his body. Even
without the magic manifesting, it still had an effect.
As Suimei remained immobile, a shadow suddenly
appeared before his eyes. As he raised his eyes, he
could see a girl in a uniform drawing her sword from
its sheathe.
“Hatsumi... I told you, to step back...”
“You can't move right? Then, someone has to step
forward right?”
“If you were watching just now, you should be
able to tell that you don't stand a chance.”
“Tch― , I can tell without you saying it. But, even
so, I can at least buy time until you can move
again... And besides, both you and him didn't get out
of that lightly right?”
“Kuku, certainly so.”
Eanru smiled, and just as Suimei thought, he still
did not move. If Hatsumi stepped forward, this could
be a once in a lifetime chance, but even so Eanru
was being finicky about putting his burned clothing
and smashed body in order. On the other hand,
Hatsumi took her stance and aimed the tip of her
blade at Eanru's eyes. However, the hand which was
gripping the hilt of that sword was letting out a cold
sweat, and was trembling ever so slightly.
“Are we doing it?”
As Hatsumi asked, Eanru shook his head.
“No, I'm done. I'll have you allow me to leave
here.”
“Eh?”
“What?”
Hearing Eanru's unexpected words, Hatsumi and
Suimei both raised their doubts.
“What, is it strange?”
“Well that's...”
“Since the fight has been interrupted, it just means
that I'll leave it at that. The chance to retreat has just
come around is all.”
They couldn't tell if that was his real intention.
Hearing his superstitious way of speaking with no
purpose, Suimei questioned him in a dubious tone.
“Is that fine? Weren't you gonna take Hatsumi
with you?”
“That's true, but it is something I was to acquire
after being victorious over you. Besides, I don't want
to leave you behind with a grudge.”
“A grudge?”
“That's right. If I took the hero with me, a grudge
would be left between the two of us. The fight
between us would become a fight filled with a
surplus of hatred. That is not what I wish for. An
enjoyable fight, even if it is unfair, is something that
must be done honestly from the front.”
“That's why, since there was an excess of that this
time, you didn't fight with me to the end?”
“That's right.”
Eanru closed his eyes as he quietly nodded. It was
an absurd reason, but precisely because this was a
man who sought enjoyment from the battlefield, it
was not necessarily a lie.
While Suimei still held his suspicions, Eanru began
to show movements that he was about to withdraw.
It seemed he really did have no more intention of
fighting. Dispersing his overflowing fighting spirit,
the hot atmosphere returned to a cool breeze. Seeing
that figure just before his eyes, Suimei sat cross
legged where he was, and let out a somewhat
astonished laugh.
“... You're really outrageous huh. I've never met a
guy like you up until now who so genuinely liked
fighting.”
“I can think of no better words of praise. They
make all the time I spent polishing my skills
worthwhile.”
Eanru humbly smiled and turned around, then
began to leave. And as if leaving behind words for a
fellow comrade in arms...
“Now then, Suimei Yakagi. I shall see you again.”
“Yeah.”
It was a promise for a rematch. Even though
Suimei didn't want to ever fight someone like that
again, even though he was completely reluctant, he
couldn't help but acknowledge Eanru's implicit
request. His heart may have simply been replying to
his opponent's sincerity.
After Eanru left, the quiet forest eventually
returned. There was still the sound of crackling
embers, but even so it felt silent because what had
been making a racket in his heart had finally
vanished. The stress that had been piling up in
Hatsumi's body seemed to have dispersed, and she
sat down right where she was with a thud.
“He's gone...”
“Yup.”
“Just what was he, that man?”
“Who knows. All I can say for now is that he's a
strange enemy. Also, that he's a battle maniac.”
After giving his brief personal opinion on Eanru,
Suimei let out all the breath in his lungs.
“Shit, next time, I won't lose...”
After spitting out all the unpleasant air in his
lungs, he leaked out vexed words as he would
overcome the next obstacle. He wasn't defeated. To
the contrary, he accomplished his goal this time
around, if he was pushed to say it, it was a victory.
However, the battle ended with Suimei at a
disadvantage. It didn't make him feel like he won. So
conversely, he could only say that he was defeated.
“Are you alright?”
“Well, as long as I'm alive I'll manage somehow or
other.”
“I see.”
After answering Hatsumi and hearing her brief
reply, she suddenly seemed to remember something
and once more began speaking.
“Now that I think of it, you seemed to be listening
carefully to his words quite a bit though.”
“Hm?”
“You talked right? With that guy.”
“Now that you mention it, you're right.”
“Why? There's no need to listen to what the enemy
has to say right? You also talked to him pointlessly
in the middle of the fight.”
“Well that kind of thing happens. The subtleties
behind that kind of fight to the death that turns into
different kinds of matches and gets all jumbled up
has kind of a tacit understanding behind them.”
“It would have been fine to trap him while he was
talking.”
“I agree completely. But with that kind of
opponent I just can't help but feel it's too boorish.
Isn't it? An enemy you have to defeat head on,
anyone out there has one or two of those no matter
what. That's why I don't want to lie to myself. Of
course, I was thinking of ways of letting only you get
away you know?”
Honestly speaking, that was Suimei's true desire. If
Eanru's objective was Hatsumi, in the worst scenario
he could just transfer Hatsumi on her own to a place
he couldn't reach. However, Hatsumi showed him
an expression like she didn't consent of that at all.
“... Even so, you're making a face like you wanna
say I wasn't thinking at all.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Hey, you saw my power right?”
After Hatsumi nodded once, Suimei continued.
“I'm still midway on my path, but I'm well aware
that the power I hold is great. In short, I'm
something like an autonomous powder keg. If a guy
like that did as he pleased, and flung around his
power without knowing anything, you can tell what
will happen right?”
“That's...”
“I'm a magician. Not just monsters, I've also
beaten many people to death with magic. Of course,
at those times, it was nothing but guys who were
attacking me, I had not other choice, so I did it. But
what if that was not the case? If I swung around my
power without properly understanding the
circumstances of those around me, and if that
turned into something that could not be undone―”
A heavy silence filled the air. Hatsumi could not
say anything back to him. It was obvious. This was
something that Hatsumi, who had no memories yet
possessed power, had to be acutely aware of
regarding herself as well.
“I don't want to regret anything after I've done it.
That's why I'll have things I want to know, and
things I'll doubt partway through. The opponent's
personal circumstances is occasionally something
that can't be seen. Just because they're hostile, it is
far too hasty to decide that they have to be defeated
no matter what. Well, if you're too cautious it's also
possible to lose an opportunity, so I can't really say
which way is better. It's nothing but things to worry
about huh? So many things...”
After letting out a self deprecating laugh and
looking down on himself, Hatsumi had nothing to
say back to him. While Hatsumi made a face like she
was carefully scrutinizing something, Suimei gave
her his impression of Eanru.
“Well, even so, it didn't seem to me that he was
trying to do something just though.”
“The moment he said he'll use me, there was no
more room for negotiation.”
Hearing Hatsumi's gloomy declaration, Suimei let
out a spiritless 'You're right huuh,' in reply. And
then, he suddenly fell to the ground with his arms
and legs spread out.
“Yakagi?”
“... I'm so tired I could die. I really, really want a
futon.”
After his idiotic declaration, Hatsumi dropped her
shoulders in a crestfallen manner. It didn't seem she
would be able to pull him up any time soon.
★
The battle that was taking place on the plains
between the Alliance army and the demon army,
had already come to a close. The battle came to an
end as it ended up in a draw due to sustained
casualties, but the Alliance army who misread the
strength of their enemy had suffered significantly
more damage than the demon army.
Currently, outside the fortress which served as the
stronghold in the area, the army was maintaining
itself. Inside the main tent, the surviving generals,
Hatsumi's companions, Rumeya, Lefille and the
others were all present. And right now, hot air was
suffocating them within that tent. It was a heat born
of the war council they were holding on how the
army should move from here on out. Weitzer, who
was in a position where he had to carefully scrutinize
all their plans, was listening to each and every
proposal from the generals and staff officers.
“Your Highness, how about we pull the army back
for a short while? If we pull them into an area with
a ravine, it would put us in an advantageous...”
“No, in an area with a ravine it is also possible that
we are put at a disadvantage. There are those among
the demons that are able to fly through the skies. It
would be better to resolutely pull back the entire line
at once, and rally the army...”
“Both are out of the question. Until Hero-dono has
returned, we cannot pull back.”
Opinions were being brought up indecisively, but
Weitzer replied in a thundering voice. However, the
generals and staff officers did not seem to be able to
withdraw their opinions, and one among them clung
on.
“However, if we remain like this too long, we will
be unable to break the deadlock. If it comes to a fight
on the open plains once more, we will take
catastrophic casualties.”
“That is exactly why we have requested
reinforcements from every vassal state. Wait until
the soldiers and goods arrive.”
“Even while we wait, the anxiety of the soldiers
will only increase! At this time we must display to
them a firm plan! If we do not move the soldiers,
they will believe that there is no plan and become
shaken!”
It seemed Weitzer had reached the limits of his
irritation before his officers and men who would not
listen to him. Slamming both hands on top of the
desk before him, he kicked aside the chair as he stood
up abruptly.
“It is certainly as you all say, if we do not put
ourselves in order, the soldiers will become shaken!
However, if we lose Hero-dono, there is no hope that
our army will recover at all! Moreover, if we
abandon Hero-dono and run away after she saved
us, do you all really believe it is the proper choice to
make?”
“... Ku!”
“You hear me!? In our position where we were
saved by the hero, we have a position to protect that
same hero! Those who make light of that have no
right to rely on the hero! Everyone engrave this on
your hearts!”
That thunderous shout held enough force to cause
everyone present to sink into silence. It was as if they
were tied down and no longer able to move. In the
meantime, Rumeya, who was sitting at the foot of
the table at the war council, began speaking to Lefille
who was sitting beside her.
“... My goodness, seems like it's quite difficult for
them huh.”
“Please don't talk like it's none of your business.
Doesn't Rumeya-dono also have the right to speak
here? As the guild master of a branch, please make
some sort of beneficial statement.”
Hearing Lefille's somewhat exasperated opinion,
Rumeya shrugged her shoulders.
“I've got no sense for the delicacies of tactics. Well
no matter how it turns out, I'll at least listen.”
“Is that really alright...”
“It's fine it's fine~”
After giving a completely irresponsible response,
Rumeya puffed away at her pipe. Both Felmenia and
Liliana, who were also sitting next to them, made
expressions like they were troubled at her indifferent
attitude. Setting those girls aside, Rumeya called out
to one of the nearby soldiers.
“... Hey hey, you over there. How are the reports
from the scouts?”
“Ha! The demon army has already resigned. It
seems even the reports from each of the fortresses
state that the demon army has retreated. However,
regarding the possibility of an advance, they are still
unable to come to a conclusion.”
“Even so they're beginning to retreat right? It's
weird isn't it~. Even if we rallied at the end, if I had
to say, they still held the advantage. Lefi, what do
you think?”
“There are two reasons for them to resign their
army. They fulfilled their goal, or they sustained
unmaintainable casualties. Certainly those demons
took quite a lot of damage, but I don't think it was to
the level where it would cause the army to resign.”
“Then, the demons accomplished their goal. That's,
how it, ends up.”
“It's just as Lily says. In that case, the problem
is...”
“Just what that was goal right...? So, Lefi. What's
the answer you came up with?”
“The Alliance army had suffered great casualties
and is at a disadvantage, while the hero Hatsumidono
is currently untraceable. It's hard to say that
the damage done to the army was flawless, so in that
case there is an eighty to ninety percent chance that
their goal was the hero Hatsumi-dono.”
Lefille's answer was pretty much conclusive.
Felmenia then showed a somewhat perturbed
expression hearing that.
“S-so Suimei-dono failed? Is that what Lefille is
saying?”
To Felmenia who had complete and absolute faith
in him, Suimei's failure to rescue Hatsumi was
something she could not suddenly believe. However,
Lefille shook her head.
“No, it is not necessarily as Felmenia-jou says. The
demons' plan was centralized on separating
Hatsumi-dono from the army. Just from that fact
you could say that their goal was accomplished. In
that case, there wouldn't be much in terms of
consequences to pull the army back. And besides,
there haven't been any declarations from them that
the hero was defeated. There's a higher probability
that she's alive.”
“Ah...”
If the hero was defeated, the demons would surely
raise her head to the sky as they let out a great roar.
If that happened, the morale of the Alliance would
fall to the lowest depths. And then just like that, if
they attacked while ignoring the casualties, it would
be the shortest path to annihilating the Alliance
army.
“'That's assuming that the demons have that kind
of craftiness and intelligence though.”
“Those things are cunning. They take advantage of
weaknesses immediately. That's why they aimed for
Hatsumi-dono specifically.”
Saying that, Lefille brought her predictions of the
demons' plans to an end. And then, she gave the
answer to what Rumeya had asked about in the first
place.
“The Alliance army will likely be licking their
wounds here for a while. If they poorly pull back
their army out of fear of casualties, the other side
will only perceive that as a chance, and it would
affect morale here as well. In the worst case, the
retreating demon army could just turn around.”
“So, you're telling me to say that to them?”
As Rumeya pointed her finger at Weitzer's group,
Lefille and the others nodded back to her. Rumeya
then turned towards Weitzer, and then once more
looked back at Lefille. That side of the tent had still
yet too cool down from their heated debate. If
anything, they were just getting more heated up. The
staff officers were unable to let go of the idea of
retreating the army, and even Gaius and Selphy who
had been quiet up to this point were suddenly
speaking to the war council.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah no way no way no waaaaay.
Instead of jumping into that kind of crap I'd rather
just go cut into the demon forces... Hey, I said it on
impulse but should we just go do it? We can just go
right now in a jiffy. Hey? Don't you think it's a good
idea?”
Rumeya's tails were shifting around restlessly as
she winked at them. Seeing this, Lefille let out a
grand sigh like she was fed up with her.
“Why are therianthropes all like this...”
“It can't be helped. They're just that kind of
people.”
“Clarissa-dono is the peculiar one huh...”
“Seems so.”
“Yup.”
As Lefille agreed, Liliana also nodded her head
repeatedly. While the girls were talking among
themselves like that, suddenly the cloth covering to
the tent was flung open. And at the same time, a
soldier came jumping in while panting.
“I-I have a report!”
“What is it!?”
The one to respond, was the one at the centre of
the war council, Weitzer. The soldier then caught his
breath, and replied happily.
“Hero-sama is returning to the camp!”
Hearing that happy report, the tent was filled with
relieved voices. Weitzer immediately restrained the
others, and once more spoke to the soldier.
“And so, is Hero-dono safe?”
“Yes. She is walking towards the camp on her own
feet.”
Finding a pause in their conversation at her own
discretion, Lefille questioned the soldier.
“Is Hero-dono alone?”
“No, the young man in black clothing was with
her. However, it seems that Hero-dono is lending
him her shoulder as they walk...”
Hearing that report, Lefille and Felmenia bolted
out of their seats.
“Is he wounded!?”
“Is he safe!?”
Pushed back by their menacing looks at the
thought of a crisis, the soldier fell on his butt. But
even so, Suimei's condition was a much higher
priority for the two of them, and they pushed the
soldier for answers without any restraint. While
completely bewildered, the soldier somehow
managed to answer them.
“Eh, ah, no. From the looks of it he didn't seem
injured, but it wasn't a condition where you could
exactly say he's safe either...”
“Get to the point! Speak clearly! Clearly!”
“It's extremely important! Please pull yourself
together!”
“Don't say such unreasonable things you two.
Come on, step back a bit.”
As Rumeya was trying to soothe them, Liliana got
straight to the point in an easy to understand way.
“First, let's go.”
And then, everyone inside the tent decided to take
a break from the war council, and left the tent in
succession.
★
After passing through the black wood forest,
Suimei and Hatsumi returned to Alliance territory,
arrived at the fortress, and were now within its
protective walls. Hatsumi took a seat on a wooden
box while Suimei plunked down onto the ground to
take a break. Before long, Felmenia and the others
came running over. Spotting their figures, Suimei
waved at them with a smile.
“Oooh, I'm back.”
“Welcome back, Suimei-dono. It seems that you
were safe.”
Felmenia replied in a somewhat relieved voice.
And sitting as he was, he gave her a high five. On
the other hand, Lefille put on a pleasant yet
astonished smile as she spoke.
“You're always worn down to tatters huh.”
“I can't say anything back to that.”
“Welcome, back. Are you alright?”
“Oh. I'm super tired though.”
Due to the fatigue and the exhaustion of his mana,
he wasn't able to move, but the damage he received
had all been healed. Looking at this scene from the
side, Hatsumi bent her head slightly to one side, and
questioned Suimei.
“These people are?”
“My companions.”
“That's right.”
“Mhmm.”
“... Not that I care, but it's nothing but girls huh.”
“Eh? Well, that's right.”
“Fuu...”
While Suimei casually replied, Hatsumi looked at
him suspiciously. Suimei however, couldn't tell why
her attitude suddenly changed, and was just making
a boneheaded expression.
“What?”
“Nothing. At any rate, aren't you too carefree?
Despite coming to save me, I had to lend you my
shoulder to return.”
“Ah? It can't be helped right? It was a pain to walk
on my own.”
“How lame.”
“It's not something I should be saying after
coming out to save you on my own, but. Whose
fault is it? Whose?”
“Uu... If you say that, I can't put up a strong
front...”
As Suimei looked at her with half closed eyes,
Hatsumi could only groan with a 'Gunununu...'
Since she was a serious person to begin with, if she
was told something that was completely true, she
couldn't say anything back. While they were having
that little exchange, the next wave of people came
out of the tent. Spotting Hatsumi sitting on the box,
Selphy leaped towards her.
“Hatsumi!”
With a delighted voice, Selphy embraced Hatsumi.
Hatsumi was both surprised and flustered at the
sudden embrace.
“Oomph! Selphy, just a little, if you suddenly do
that...”
“Hatsumi... I'm glad you're safe.”
“... Thank you. I'm safe because of all of you.”
As Selphy raised her voice happily in relief,
Hatsumi also replied to her with a relieved voice as
she showed her gratitude. After her conversation
with Selphy calmed down, Weitzer and Gaius, who
had been watching from the side, called out to her.
“Hero-dono. Welcome back.”
“Aah, I'm back. Thank goodness you're all safe.”
“With this I can finally relax and have some
booze.”
“That's all Gaius cares about huh.”
Going along with Gaius' carefree attitude, laughs
began to burst out in their surrounding. Looking at
them from the side, Suimei made a broad grin.
“Ooh, I properly accomplished my goal right?”
“... I see.”
“Yeah, you're really outrageous huh.”
On one hand, a complicated expression as he
averted his gaze, and on the other, a pleasant and
cheerful expression. During their exchange,
Rumeya, who at some point in time had seated
herself on a nearby box, called out to Suimei while
smoking her pipe.
“Suimei. I heard you were borrowing her shoulder
though?”
“That's it that's it! Just what happened!? For
Suimei-dono to be unable to move...”
“Certainly. If you had just gone to search, it is
weird, for Suimei to be, unable to move.”
After Liliana raised her suspicions, next was Gaius.
“Was it demons?”
“That's, hard to imagine.”
After Liliana's declaration, each and every one of
Suimei's party were nodding repeatedly. To them, no
matter how many mere demons came flying at him,
they wouldn't pose a threat to Suimei. Wanting to
cut to the core of the issue, Lefille pointed her gaze
towards him.
“So? Suimei-kun.”
“Aah, there was just a little formidable enemy that
showed up is all.”
“By that you mean, a demon general?”
“Hm? Demon general?”
In reply to Gaius' question, for some reason
Suimei cocked his head to the side. Looking at him
act like that, Hatsumi made a completely stunned
expression.
“There was one, right? Did you actually forget?
You're kidding right? No matter how you look at
it...”
Hearing Hatsumi's dumbfounded tone, Suimei
started to think seriously with his head which had
poor blood circulation at the time. Now then, just
what were they talking about with that demon
general? Making a groan as he thought of this, he
looked up at the sky, then the ground, and then
finally he remembered that there was in fact
something like that.
“... Ah. Aah, AAH! Now that you mention it, there
was that guy who used the shitty imitation
technique!”
“Seriously...?”
Hatsumi's exasperated voice rang in the air. She
didn't think at all that he would just up and forget
about it. Seeing her strike her forehead with her
palm like she had a headache, Suimei could only
make a bitter smile. The shock of fighting Eanru was
just so big that he had completely forgotten about
Vuishta. Judging that she wouldn't be able to get to
the point with Suimei like that, Selphy turned to
Hatsumi.
“Then a demon general really did appear?”
“Yes. We fought with a demon general.”
“We fought, but that kind of small fry wasn't really
a problem. More importantly...”
“A-a demon general, a small fry... Small fry... is
it?”
As Suimei treated matters concerning the demons
like they didn't matter at all, Selphy began to mutter
his words repeatedly in a dumbfounded tone from
within her hood. To them, the demons were a major
threat, so they couldn't imagine what Suimei was
saying at all. It was not just her, both Weitzer and
Gaius were frowning as well. As if to urge on the
conversation to the next stage, Lefille spoke up to
Suimei.
“From the way you've been speaking, some other
opponent other than the demon general was the one
to wear you down to tatters like that?”
“Yeah.”
After Suimei nodded, Hatsumi cut in.
“Thanks to Yakagi we were able to defeat the
demon general successfully, but after that, he
showed up right away.”
“And, just what was he?”
“He called himself a dragonnewt.”
“Dra!?”
“A dragonnewt!?”
Both Gaius and Weitzer yelled out in surprise as
Hatsumi looked at the two of them curiously.
“... Is it bad?”
“Bad you say... It ain't bad but, no, rather than
bad it's better to say...”
Gaius was seized by shock and unable to get to the
point. Suimei looked around to get an answer from
someone else, but every one of them was making a
surprised expression. The only one who seemed calm
was Rumeya, so he fixed his gaze on her.
“Haa... A dragonnewt huh. They're a race that live
in the mountain range to the north of the Alliance.
It's said that they have the strongest bodies among
all beings in this world. Well, in reality, they are
outrageously powerful beings. They're the type who
don't stick their heads into worldly affairs though.
Rather, you fought that kind of guy?”
“Yeah.”
“Don't tell me you also absurdly did him in?”
“Not at all. It took everything I had just to have it
declared as a draw due to injuries. Though it was
closer to a loss.”
“You're really beyond common sense huh.”
Even with the addendum Suimei slapped on to the
end of his declaration, Rumeya's astonishment only
deepened. As their exchange finished, Suimei looked
towards Lefille.
“I'd like to get Lefi-san's opinion as a reference
too.”
“I'm of the same opinion as Rumeya-dono. The
dragonnewts are strong. Moreover, even though
they live in a land close to the demon territory, not
only have they not been destroyed, they've been
spreading. Despite being completely outnumbered,
they have enough power to put up a fight with room
to spare.”
Hearing her say that, Suimei was reminded of
Eanru's monologue when he showed up.
“Aah. Now that you say it, he said they were pests
or something huh.”
“That's right... After seeing that, I can only nod
and say that he was an outrageous guy.”
As the two of them remembered what had
happened and let out a deep sigh, Selphy brought up
her doubts.
“But why was a dragonnewt fighting with you
two?”
“Who knows? He said he wanted to take Hatsumi
along, but we weren't able to get more out of him.”
“T-take Hatsumi along!?”
“He said something like needing the hero's power,
I wonder what it was?”
As Suimei nodded his head heavily, Weitzer let out
a thunderous shout.
“Bastard, why did you not get such important
information!?”
“Ha?”
“It's an important matter which involves Herodono
you hear!? To not get such an―”
“Aaah dammit just shut the hell up already. He
wasn't the kind of opponent you could get an answer
out of using force. It can't be helped right? Ah? Or
are you saying that you wanna go give it a try
yourself? From the beginning to the end it was
nothing but a trauma festival for me you hear? It
was a dragon, a dragon! Can you fight against that
monster that can bring ruin to the world's seven
billion people and the civilization they created!? AH!?
AH!?”
“Th-that's...”
Suimei bore his fangs as he stared daggers into
Weitzer in anger. With a 'Gurururu...' he even
started growling like a beast at him. Seeing this,
Felmenia and Lefille started to try and soothe him
with a 'Whoa there.'
“Am I a horse!?”
“Please calm down Suimei-dono. This isn't like
you...”
“I'll end up unlike myself with this crap!”
“Suimei-kun. You're starting to become
incoherent. He's different from the opponent you
fought in your world right?”
“He's different, but a dragon is a dragon!
UGAAAH!”
“You can't act violently Suimei-kun (Giyu!)”
“GYAAAAAAAAAAH! Lefi-san I'm breaking I'm
breaking I'm breaking you're pressing down too hard
dammiiiit!”
As Lefille pinned down both his shoulders,
everyone around them were looking at them in
bewilderment not just from their actions, but from
what they were talking about.
(Suimei, it's, not like him.)
(I think he must have been driven into a corner
quite hard right? I have seen Suimei-dono act like
this before too...)
Felmenia was reminded of the time that Suimei
came to this world when he went on a rampage in
the audience chamber. At that time, Suimei also
completely lost his composure at the unreasonable
situation thrust before him. He at least had the self
control not to go berserk when he was using magic,
but as one would expect, such behaviour that was
more fitting for one his age would come out once in
a while. Before long, after Suimei managed to calm
down, Gaius decided to move along the
conversation.
“Did you at least get his name?”
“Y-yeah... He called himself Eanru.”
“Eanru you say...”
“Fuu? Now then, just where have I heard that
name before...”
Gaius didn't seem to have a clue, but Rumeya
seemed that have heard it before. Having suddenly
realized, Selphy's face became completely pale.
“Selphy?”
“... I have heard that name before. Over a hundred
years ago, there was a terrifyingly strong
dragonnewt. At that time, he was the one who
defeated the 'Man-Eating Evil' that nobody was able
to take down.”
“That's who he was?”
“If I remember right, my master called that
dragonnewt Eanru. It is probably...”
“... Good grief, so that samurai-like guy was that
kind of opponent―Rather, if it was something a
hundred years ago then he has quite the long
lifespan huh?”
Suimei let out a sigh like he was fed up with up,
and Rumeya answered him.
“The dragonnewts, elves and dwarves are all the
same in that they have long lifespans. I've also heard
stories of that man eating evil too, that dragonnewt
has probably already lived a hundred or two hundred
years hasn't he?”
“Uheeeh.... There's that many people in this world
who live that long? That gives me chills.”
As Suimei acted out by grabbing his shoulders and
trembling, Felmenia joined the conversation.
“Is it bad if they live long?”
“Back in my world most of the guys who live for a
long time are dangerous, or rather that's the
standard. Even those who live for a hundred years
are all dangerous, super dangerous.”
“For Suimei-dono to go so far...”
While Felmenia made a grim expression as she
muttered, Suimei recalled those monsters with long
lifespans. This applied to leader of the Society, the
chairman, the monster professor, and the Ten who
Fell to Greed. They were all magicians who
possessed dreadful power. During this pause in the
conversation, Hatsumi suddenly raised her voice.
“Can we bring this talk to a close then? I'm alright,
but...”
Hatsumi turned a somewhat timid look over to
Suimei, and Suimei didn't bother putting up a strong
front towards her consideration.
“I just want to sleep. Let's call it a night here.”
Guessing that Hatsumi was also tired, Suimei
expressed his own desire to get some rest. It may be
the case that a man should pretend to be tough in
these cases, but it would also do well for the soldiers'
mentalities to give the hero some rest. Just as he was
thinking of finding a place to rest and stood up, a
presence suddenly appeared behind him. And as
Suimei tried to confirm who that presence belonged
to―
“Suimei-kun doesn't seem able to move. In that
case.”
“Heh?”
Just as he thought he heard Lefille's voice, his arm
was suddenly grabbed. And then, his body was pulled
up. After being confusingly rotated and twisted in the
air, when he realized what was going on, Suimei's
body was placed on Lefille's back.
“Wai―, ＠×〇△!?”
“Suimei-kun, you're speaking gibberish you
know?”
“Whatever! What the hell are you doing Lefisan!?”
“It seemed like it was troublesome for you to move
around, so I thought I would carry you?”
He was thankful for her consideration, but because
a man was being carried on a woman's back, he was
getting weird looks from his surroundings.
“St-stop stop stop it! Let me down! I'm fine so just
let me down!”
“No way. You're tired right? It's better not to force
yourself.”
“Forget forcing myself, being carried by a girl is far
too lame!”
“That can't be helped. It's because you used your
power up to its limits.”
“That's not my...”
Fault, was what Suimei was trying to say, but then
he suddenly noticed that Rumeya was snickering at
him.
“Ku, kukuku...”
“Wha-, you! Don't laugh!”
“But, you know....”
“I don't know dammit! Menia what the hell are
you laughing for too!?”
“Even if you say that, it's just so unusual for
Suimei-dono to be so intensely perturbed. Fu,
fufufu...”
Felmenia pointed this out to him, but she was
making a gentle smile the whole time. He had no
more allies in this place. And then, even though
Suimei was at the limits of his patience, Liliana took
her turn.
“Suimei, accepting the good will of others, is the
generosity of an adult.”
What dealt the final blow, were those ever
innocent words. In the end, judging that he was
unable to escape his fate of being carried away,
Suimei could only grandly scream out his
resentment towards them.
“God dammiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! You guys! I'll
fucking remember thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!”
After spending a night resting in the fortress,
Suimei's party returned to Miazen.
Chapter 2
Seeking the Hero's Weapon
With the third imperial princess of the Empire,
Graziella Filas Rieseld now accompanying them on
their journey, Reiji's party arrived at the self
governed state of the Saadias Alliance. The self
governed state at the west end of the northern region
was a long and narrow territory which overlooked
the ocean like Chile in South America.
The puzzling name of the self governed state of the
Saadias Alliance came from their history of
repeatedly joining and leaving the Saadias Alliance
over administrative problems and events like the rise
of the tyrant. Because of this, it's official name had
never stabilized. Currently, its regional
administration was entrusted to an autonomous
parliament independent of the sovereign state
Miazen.
After arriving at the border, Reiji and the others
boarded a carriage prepared by the Salvation
Church, and were now headed towards the centre of
the self governed state, the city of Attila. Following
behind the carriage were the three knights from
Astel, as well as several of Graziella's subordinates
from the Imperial army. Riding in the carriage was
Reiji's party of four. Because of the previous
hostilities with Graziella, they thought it would be
impossible to get along with her before leaving the
Empire, but...
“Listen to me~! When we were in the audience
chamber in the Empire, when his Imperial Majesty
looked down at me, he was scowling you hear!? I
didn't even do anything! Don't you think that's
mean!?”
“Seriously. No matter who it is, he pressures them
like that. He only holds it back a little towards
relatives and close associates. Furthermore, what
about that? He pushed this kind of duty on me.
Despite always treating the words of the Goddess
and the church as nothing but nonsense. It's only at
these incomprehensible times that he lends an ear to
some other guy. There's got to be a limit to his
emotional instability.”
“And also! Duke Hadorious was it!? That guy is
also quite evil! He throws people into traps right?
And he takes hostages right? And he bothers Reiji
right!?”
“Fuu. Every single one of those important guys are
complete good for nothings.”
“Right~!?”
... For some reason, Mizuki and Graziella were
having a convention for idle complaints inside the
carriage. The targets of their complaints were the
terrifying Nelferian Emperor and Duke Hadorious,
and even Graziella had just called them 'good for
nothings', but, setting that aside.
Matching the bumpy sounds as the carriage rolled
down the road were their non-stop squawking voices
as they raised an uproar. Titania looked over at the
two of them curiously.
“... Mizuki, is surprisingly not a timid child at all
it.”
Hearing those words that she was directing
towards herself, Reiji responded to her from the side.
“Really. To think that little girl could let out those
kinds of complaints to the one in front of her.”
“That's also the case, but I'm surprised that she's
already reached the point of being able to talk with
her Imperial Highness Graziella on equal terms...”
The one Mizuki was talking to was genuinely an
authentic member of an imperial family. Graziella
had previously told them not to be reserved, but in
such a short amount of time it was still normal to at
least speak politely and be hesitant of speaking to her
in the first place.
The reason there was none of that going on could
be said to be partially because she was simply
ignorant. Since she was a modern day high school
girl, she could not grasp the absurd concept of lèsemajesté
at all. However, fundamentally...
“In general, Mizuki can just about get along with
anyone. Whether it be how she immediately closes
the sense of distance between them or how the
people she talks to somehow never think that she's
being rude, it's one of Mizuki's good points.”
“You also know her bad points too right?
Fufufu...”
“Hahaha... Well, yeah... It was all quite the
disaster, in many ways.”
Reiji returned a dry laugh towards Titania's smile.
Because the first thing that came to his mind when
she mentioned Mizuki's bad points was what it was,
he suddenly felt tired. Seeing this, Titania had an
idea of what he was talking about.
“Could it be, that serious sickness I heard before
called chuunibyou?”
“Yeah, it's a terrifying sickness. Mizuki's case was
quite severe you see? On top of talking completely
incomprehensibly, she would also bring about
unthinkable danger along with her.”
“Danger, you say?”
“Yeah. Just like how when a butterfly flaps its
wings and disturbs the air, by the time it reaches us
it becomes a storm or something, the things Mizuki
said had all kinds of ridiculous effects on her
surroundings and would rebound no matter what it
was.”
“I don't really understand your example, but I
more or less understand what you are trying to say.”
“Un. Suimei called it a kind of curse that induced
recognition bias, or a transmitted curse that becomes
a repetitive spiral of fear or something like that.”
“Suimei said that?”
“Back in the early days, Suimei also said a bunch
of incomprehensible things with a completely serious
face. Though he was nastier, there was more truth to
the things he said than what Mizuki would say.
Whenever weird things around us happened, he
would definitely go through something dangerous
with us though.”
“... Reiji-sama. Those dangers, could it not be that
Suimei was actually the one causing those
situations?”
“In a way you may be right. Mizuki would be four
parts, my meddling would be four parts, and Suimei
would be the remaining two parts of ten or
something...”
“...”
Reiji looked out the window while gazing far
away. Looking at his sorrowful figure drifting away
like that, Titania had nothing more to say. While
that was going on, Mizuki's idle complaint
convention had ended, and she put on a smile as she
drew closer to Reiji.
“Hey, Reiji-kun. What were you talking about
with Tia just now?”
“Eh? No, nothing in particular.”
Reiji didn't think that she could have possibly been
listening. But just as he was regretting the fact that
he got carried away, a traitor appeared.
“Just a little about Mizuki's past. Reiji-sama was
telling me about it right?”
“T-Tia!?”
“R~e~i~j~i~k~u~n. You know that I have a heap
of stuff about my past that I don't want people to
know right!? RIGHT!?”
“But most of that is just reaping what you sow...”
“That may be so! That may be so but~!”
Mizuki was gripping both of Reiji's shoulders while
violently shaking him back and forth. As she was
cutely getting her revenge on him, Graziella cut in to
the conversation.
“Hou, I'm quite interested in Mizuki's past. Tell me
about it too. It seems amusing.”
“It's fine if Graziella-san doesn't hear it!”
“What? Am I the only one being left out?”
“That's not it, but! Aah, geez! This is all Reiji-kun's
fault!”
Yelling in distress, Mizuki just shook him even
harder within the carriage. In the end, Reiji, the
main culprit of her tantrum, was the one to calm her
down. Seeing that scene, Graziella put on a smile.
“It doesn't get tiresome here huh?”
“That's true isn't it? The two of them are quite
cheerful after all.”
After agreeing with a smile, Titania took a
complete turn and made a serious expression. And
then, she turned towards Graziella who was still
watching Reiji and Mizuki.
“But was it really alright? Your Imperial
Highness.”
“What was?”
“For you to take action alongside us.”
“Regarding that, did I not communicate that there
was nothing that could be done about it because of
the Goddess?”
“No, that may be the case, but what I am asking
about is that with the current state of the Empire, is
it fine for you to distance yourself from the Imperial
Capital?”
Hearing Titania's roundabout question, Graziella
shrugged her shoulders in exasperation.
“For a foreign princess to worry about our country
is something else indeed. Could your Royal Highness
Titania be plotting to grasp on to the weakness of the
Empire?”
“While the demons' might is expanding, discord
and antagonism between fellow humans is simply
foolish. The crisis of an allied nation could be said to
be the same as the crisis of one's own country.”
“That's certainly true.”
“So?”
“Aah, honestly speaking I did not want to distance
myself. Because of that incomprehensible
disturbance, despite the scoundrels out there
decreasing in number, the power of the nobles also
decreased and I cannot deny that the war potential
of the Empire has declined. Even if that was not the
case, the mutual relations with all the neighbouring
countries has become poor.”
“Last time, your Imperial Highness came within
Astel's territory at your own discretion as well.”
“That may in fact have been overbearing, but in
reality was it not a necessity? Because that man
defeated the demons beforehand, in the end, the
animosity towards me simply piled up though.”
It certainly was just as she said. Astel and Nelferia
were allied nations. If they had fought together in
that place against the demons, Graziella's actions
would probably have been praised. Because she had
done so without permission, she ended up being
criticized for being hasty, but if one thought about it
as a wager to improve the reputation of the Empire,
then she wasn't a bad person. Kicking away Titania's
poisonous words, Graziella gazed towards the
direction of the Empire.
“... I have my misgivings. Now that the nobles
that can step on the battlefield have decreased in
number, if the demons launched a large scale attack
on the Empire, it would be a serious blow to us. And
with the current state of affairs, it is also possible
that our allied nations would remain still during the
whole affair.”
“In other words, the Empire would end up having
to fight all on their own right?”
The reason she was troubled about being unable to
get the cooperation of other nations was not only
because she couldn't expect reinforcements. They
would also lose the advantage of having supply
trains from various locations. Not only that, goods,
information and any support would stagnate, and
altogether would provide a serious blow to them in
battle. Because the Empire covered a wide territory,
it could be said that it was vital for them to receive
support from its neighbouring nations.
“Now just who is it pulling our hands from behind
the scenes...”
Hearing Graziella mutter that in a troubled voice,
one man came to Reiji's mind.
―Duke Hadorious.
Remembering the figure of that man sitting at the
desk in his office, Reiji stood perfectly still where he
was. His hunch seemed to have jumped out at him
like an electrical signal. Seeing him abruptly
standing there perfectly still and finding it strange,
Mizuki cocked her head to the side and questioned
him.
“Reiji-kun. What's wrong?”
“No...”
Without really seriously answering, Reiji started to
spin around his thoughts. It was only a possibility.
But it just may have been that case that Hadorious
was making secret preparations behind the scenes.
There was a possibility that he manipulated things so
that Graziella came along with them.
In that case, back when the information about the
demon invasion was leaked to Graziella, that would
also have been Hadorious and would line up with
Suimei's prediction. The annihilation of the demons
was unexpected. But even so, he had used Suimei as
a decoy from the very beginning, even if he ordered
Gregory to take them somewhere safe, he could
easily predict that they would return all the way to
Astel. If they bumped into Graziella there, coupled
together with taking of a hostage, he could smoothly
carry out the same plan to have them go to the
Empire.
However, in that case, the fact that Graziella
linked up with them didn't quite mesh with the
whole story. Hadorious wanted to keep Graziella in
check, and sent them over to the Empire to keep an
eye on her movements. To observe her movements,
it should have been necessary that they remain put
in the Empire.
On top of that, there was no consistency in
Hadorious pressuring the church to make Graziella
move. If Graziella became one of their companions,
they would be able to move freely once more. If his
original intent was to have Graziella move along
with them it would be a different story, but it seemed
far too roundabout. If he was going to put pressure
on the church, it would be simpler to do so in the
first place and have Graziella accompany them on
their journey when they met. Moreover, there was
also the fact that Graziella's case came as a result of
an oracle from the Goddess.
“The Salvation Church, and Duke Hadorious...”
Hearing Reiji suddenly mutter, Mizuki once more
spoke up to him.
“What about them?”
“I was thinking the reason we're moving around
like we are now might be because of those two is all.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just as her Imperial Highness said earlier, if
someone is leading us by the hand, at the very least I
think those two are involved.”
Reiji replied to Titania, and then Graziella cut in to
the conversation.
“You mean to say that the Salvation Church and
Duke Hadorious are connected and did something?”
“No, that would be hard to believe. In that case, it
wouldn't have worked out in such a roundabout way
like it did.”
“Fumu...”
Hearing Reiji's thoughts, Graziella began stoking
her jaw. As expected, because it was something that
involved her personally, it was something she
couldn't afford not to brood over. On the other hand,
Titania gave her own opinion of the matter.
“Duke Hadorious' territory is adjacent to the
Empire, so having the Empire become isolated
would probably seem welcoming to him.”
“Hou, that certainly is a blunt denunciation of a
feudal lord from your own country is it not?”
“I hate that man.”
“Because you lost.”
“Uu!”
Stabbed by Graziella's bull's-eye, Titania let out an
unusual groan. While they were having this
exchange, Mizuki remembered hearing the same
thing before.
“Tia lost? Ah, now that you mention it, Luka-san
said something similar before...”
“It is nothing! Please do not pay it any mind!”
The princess of a nation was frantically trying to
change the subject to the point where she was
fluttering her hands around noisily. It was
somewhat unbecoming of her, but even so, Mizuki
didn't actually seem all that interested in it either.
“But, even if that is true, why would he do that I
wonder? I can kinda get the church moving us
around, but for Duke Hadorious...”
“I also don't know. Regarding this, it seems we'll
need to talk with Suimei about it once more huh.”
“You're right. As expected, when Suimei-kun isn't
here we get stuck like this huh.”
To their little group of three, the one who occupied
the position of the brain, Suimei, was indispensable
after all. As Reiji and Mizuki confirmed this fact,
Graziella spoke to Reiji.
“At any rate, Reiji, you really value that man quite
a lot don't you?”
“That man as in, Suimei? Un, well, I do.”
“Suimei-kun is really reliable when there is trouble
going on. He comes up with views that we couldn't
think of at all too.”
“At times where you would normally panic,
Suimei is always perfectly composed after all.”
“But on the other hand he blows his cool at the
weirdest times, and he slips away all the time too...”
If it wasn't for that... Thinking that with a bitter
smile, Mizuki sighed. Graziella then brought her
mouth closer to Titania's ear to talk with her in
secret.
(Reiji and Mizuki do not know of that guy's
strength, correct?)
(Yes. However, they do seem to know that he is
very cunning during critical times.)
(In other words, he was too meddlesome to be
able to conceal it all huh. What a naive man.)
(The reason Suimei's conduct seems so unstable is
probably because he is stuck between the things he
wants to do and the things that he must do. If you
think of it like that, even his actions up to this point
make sense.)
(Hou?)
(Well, it's mostly because he's awkward though.)
Titania let out her impression of Suimei. And when
she realized, Graziella was looking at her strangely.
“... What is it?”
“No, I was just thinking that the reason you are
speaking so bitterly about him is perhaps because
you also lost to that man.”
As Graziella was implicitly pointing out that she
was a sore loser, Titania yelled as her face turned
bright red from shame.
“―I'm not really!”
“As I thought. My goodness, contrary to your fine
appearance, you are quite the sore loser aren't you,
your Royal Highness Titania.”
“You can't really say that about others! In the end,
you were also completely outwitted by Suimei's plan
weren't you!?”
Titania yelled to hide her embarrassment as she
threw Graziella's words back at her. In the end, it
didn't change the fact that the both of them were
irritated at having more losses than wins, but both of
them didn't want to admit this either. While they
were quarrelling like that, Titania noticed that Reiji
and Mizuki were watching her little outbreak
intently.
“... What is the matter, Mizuki?”
“Uun. I just thought you unexpectedly get along is
all.”
“I don't particularly get along well with her
Imperial Highness Graziella!”
“That's right Mizuki. Don't misunderstand. I have
no intention of making friends with her Royal
Highness Titania.”
They both said the same thing, but the other two
were already convinced.
“But you know...”
“Right?”
As Reiji and Mizuki happily nodded to each other,
Titania yelled out once more.
“Even Reiji-sama!”
“... It is your fault is it not? If you did not ask such
a thing in the first place, it would not have turned
out like this.”
“Why are you acting like a victim!? Were you not
talking non-stop as well!?”
“What did you say?”
“What!?”
The two of them began to intimidate each other as
they quarrelled.
... In the end, until the driver informed them that
they had arrived at the Salvation Church, the inside
of the carriage was in a wild uproar from Titania
and Graziella's yelling.
Because they had sent a messenger to the
Salvation Church before moving, everything
proceeded smoothly after they arrived.
It seemed that the relic left behind by the hero that
Reiji and the others were looking for was being held
somewhere other than the church itself. So after
finishing their greetings with the head bishop, they
once more boarded the carriage at the church and
were brought to a large temple a little outside the
city.
Many large stone pillars were lined up outside, a
large building made of gypsum had been put in place
behind them and deep inside was a large dome. It
was like a merger between the Greek Parthenon and
the Roman Pantheon.
As they drew closer, it's impressiveness only grew
all the more overpowering to them. Mizuki was no
exception to this, and was looking at it like a world
heritage sight as she raised her voice in deep
admiration.
“Uwaaa~, it's amaaaazing!”
As she shouted, Mizuki started running around like
a child. And then, Titania spoke to her like a mother
speaking to a child.
“Mizuki, if you run around too much you'll fall
over you know?”
“It's fine! The shoes I got from Suimei-kun are
super high quality, so they're even more comfortable
and perform better than sneakers from the other
world! I'll be fine even if I hop and jump around!
Look!”
Pointing at her boots made of some unknown
animal's leather, she showed off as she began to
jump around. Titania began walking towards her
with an astonished yet gentle smile. Lagging behind
a bit, Reiji, Graziella and the escorts followed after
her. After a short while, they arrived before the
entrance where a number of guides from the
Salvation Church wearing religious habits were lined
up waiting for them. This was likely because they
were informed beforehand. One of the nuns
representing the line of guides then stepped forward.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am
the one who has been entrusted with the
management of this temple, I am called Faylia. I
welcome you wholeheartedly to our temple, Herosama,
our guest from another world, as well as your
Highnesses.”
After making her greeting, she bowed down, and
then took off her hood. Revealed from underneath
that hood, was white skin, white hair, and tapered
ears. With green eyes and pink lips, she was a fair
and fascinatingly elegant elf.
From her appearance, she looked somewhere in
her late twenties or early thirties. She wasn't dressed
very elegantly, but the complexion of her lips was
prominently luscious and she gave off an other
worldly sense of sex appeal. While Mizuki was going
'So pretty~' from behind with a voice filled with
fervour and admiration, Reiji stepped forward and
returned Faylia's greeting.
“I am Shana Reiji. You have my thanks for
granting us your time today while you were all so
busy.”
“Thank you for your considerations, Hero-sama.
However, we are not particularly busy here?”
“It's just a polite way of putting it, please accept it
as my generosity.”
As Faylia made an impish smile, Reiji refreshingly
smiled back. Looking at them from the side,
Graziella spoke to the others.
“I see, he's a seducer.”
“It can't be helped with Reiji-kun. It doesn't
matter who it is, that's just his default refreshing
interaction mode.”
While Graziella and Mizuki were discussing such
matters, Reiji began to follow after Faylia who
started guiding them. It probably meant they were
going to walk while talking. The inside of the temple
was gloomy. The lights coming from the vicinity of
the ceiling seemed like the sunlight shining through
prison bars. It had the atmosphere of a cathedral in
the morning and gave off the sense of a holy
location. While walking, Faylia cut to the main point
of the matter.
“I have already been told your story. You would
like to take charge of the relic, correct?”
“Yes. I was hoping that you would allow me to use
it no matter what.”
“I do not mind handing it over at all, but I do not
know whether or not the relic that Reiji-sama is
seeking will be of any help to you.”
“Regarding that, I have already been informed by
El Meide's hero Elliot. It chooses its user, correct?”
“Yes. In the past, nobody has ever taken
possession of the relic left behind by Hero-sama, so I
don't know if we will be able to be of much help to
you or not...”
“I don't mind. First, please allow me to test out
whether I can use it.”
Hearing his courteous request, Faylia replied with
a brief nod and a 'Yes.' On the other hand, Graziella
was looking around the interior of the building with
a dubious expression.
“There's that kind of thing here?”
Hearing her doubtful tone, Titania spoke up to her.
“Your Imperial Highness, do you know of this
place?”
“I've only visited here once before. Just like this
time, I was also shown around, but having said that,
there was nothing interesting at all. It's a statement
that they didn't want to show me anything
important.”
Saying that, Graziella frowned in discontent. If
Suimei was around, it would be a remark that he
would quip back at with a 'Well that's cause it's
important, idiot.' Titania then took a look around at
their surroundings as well.
“Certainly, it looks like there is nothing here, but...”
“Yes, there is nothing here. It is only used for the
safekeeping of the relics deep inside, so the temple is
mostly just for appearance's sake.”
“Heeh, so in others words it's just a big storage
shed.”
“Mizuki, that's putting it a little too bluntly...”
Hearing Mizuki's grade schooler like impression,
Titania acted like she had a headache and let out a
tired voice. Mizuki on the other hand, didn't pay her
any mind, and asked Faylia a simplistic question.”
“Faylia-san. This place is awfully pretty, but how
long has it been around?”
“Ever since the tyrant was defeated. In those days,
there was an urgent need to seal away those relics,
so a small storage area was made. After that, we
built the solid temple around it that we are standing
in now.”
After a short delay, Mizuki found something
strange about what she said, and cocked her head to
the side.
“You say it like you saw it all happen huh.”
“Yes, since I did see it all happen.”
“Heh?”
Mizuki made a hysterical sound, but Faylia only
looked at her with a gentle smile. Unable to tell
whether she was being honest or not, Reiji felt
obliged to ask.
“Um, I know that it is rude to ask about one's age,
but... Faylia-san, how old are you?”
“I haven't properly counted, but I turned five
hundred years old a little while ago.”
“Th-th-th-th-th-that many years!?”
“A-as expected of an elf...”
Reiji let out a confused voice, while Mizuki stood
there dumbfounded with her mouth wide open. It
had been quite a while since they came to this world,
but this was the first time they had met someone
who lived for more than a hundred years, so they
were unable to hide their surprise. On the other
hand, this seemed to be simple common sense to
both Titania and Graziella, as they did not appear
surprised in the least.
“Which means, were you acquainted with the hero
of that time?”
“Yes. I met him when I was still in the early days
of my life.”
“What kind of person was he?”
“Hero-sama at that time had three things he was
famous for. He had a deep knowledge far beyond
anyone else. He held a great power. And he saved
this land from the hand of the tyrant.”
After walking for a while, they arrived at a room
deep inside the temple.
“Is it here?”
“No, that which you seek is being kept under
watch in a room further inside.”
“Hm? There's something here? Faylia-san, is this
not it?”
“Aah, that is...”
While speaking, Faylia took down a wooden box
from the shelf. And then she opened it up in front of
Reiji and the others so that they could see. Inside,
there was something that had a shape similar to a
pocket watch from the modern world.
Considering it would be easier for them to see for
themselves, Faylia took it out of the box and handed
it over to Reiji. As Reiji got a closer look, it really did
look like a pocket watch to him. There were
numerals written along the circumference which
resembled roman numerals as well as a curved
needles that looks like an hour and minute hand.
The numbers written down were not from this world
either, a completely mysterious watch.
“What is it?”
“It is called the Lachesis Meter. It was something
left behind by Hero-sama along with the
Sacrament.”
While listening to her explanation, Reiji looked for
the crown of the watch, but there didn't seem to be
any sort of spring mechanism to make it move.
“It's not moving but, how does one use it?”
“That's... We do not know that either.”
“You don't know? Was its use not passed down
along with the item?”
“Hero-sama did not give us a detailed explanation
of this item at the time. In our world, he said it
probably wasn't relevant at all. Unlike the
Sacrament, it seems to be completely meaningless to
this world.”
“Completely meaningless, as in?”
“Nothing more than that, he said it is because the
'end of the world' hasn't started in this world.”
“The end of the world hasn't started?”
“Yes.”
The words left behind by the hero that Faylia
relayed had a strange phrasing to it. The end of the
world was an end result, it wasn't an expression used
for a period of time. There was no beginning, the
moment that phrase is used, everything was already
over. Reiji and the others were all puzzled, and then
Faylia offered her apologies.
“I also do not really understand. By saying the end
of the world has started, he explained it as something
like it was predetermined once it started, but
everything after that was all in vocabulary that I
didn't really comprehend. In the end, we didn't pay it
much attention because it was irrelevant, and left it
at that.
With that, Faylia brought her explanation of the
Lachesis Meter to an end. Reiji and the others also
judged that spending more time on it would be
meaningless, and moved on to the main point.
“So, would it be fine to show us the weapon about
now?”
“About that, I must offer my apologies. But we
cannot go further in than this.”
As she gestured further into the temple, Faylia
apologized. Her words and actions didn't match each
other. Titania started with a somewhat sharp tone.
“What do you mean? I do remember you saying
that you had been previously informed?”
“This is the hero of Salvation, is it not appropriate
to cooperate?”
“No, I do not mean that we cannot hand it over. It
is just that access to the Sacrament is strictly
controlled. The door has been sealed by Hero-sama's
magic. And so, to undo the seal, it is required that
myself and several specialist mages perform a ritual.
To undo the seal, it requires close to half a day.”
“So we can't go through yet?”
“Yes. After the preparations have been completed,
we will let you through, but that will likely have to
wait until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow... That's quite strict huh.”
Graziella must have felt like they were on a fool's
errand, as she acted like her stiffened shoulders were
suddenly loosened. She was probably thinking that if
they weren't going to hand it over right away, there
was no need to guide them at all today. And then,
Mizuki cut in to the conversation.
“It's supposed to be something that can't be used
by just anyone, so why do you have to go so far?”
“Hero-sama said that it was something that should
not exist in this world. He told us that it was
something that had a tremendous power that could
twist the principles of the world. And thus, so that its
power could not be studied and recreated, it was
sealed along with the tyrant's relics.”
Faylia's explanation was somewhat majestic, or
perhaps excessive to Reiji. So holding onto those
doubts, he questioned her further.
“And just what is that tremendous power?”
“From what I have seen, it was a power that could
freeze all creation.”
“All creation?”
“Yes. Hero-sama said that it was able to interfere
with anything and everything in the world. And just
as he said, there was nothing in existence that the
Sacrament's power was unable to freeze. The other
heroes also said that the Sacrament was some sort of
special exception. As long as the conditions were
met, they said it was a weapon capable of killing
gods.”
“K-killing gods, you said?”
“Are you saying it is such an excessive weapon
that it would bring about such conceit?”
Hearing Faylia's words, Graziella and Titania
showed their surprise, and indignation. To the
citizens of this world who lived under the Goddess
Alshuna, the phrase 'killing gods' had tremendous
implications. As if covering for the hero, Faylia
shook her head.
“No, it's original purpose seemed to be different.”
The one to get a hint from her words, was Mizuki.
“Could it be, something related to that 'end of the
world' you mentioned?”
“Yes. The Sacrament was made to evade that
event, as a result, one of the side effects of that made
it a preposterous weapon though.”
“That kind of thing, is further in here...”
Reiji gazed beyond the door which led further into
the temple. And then, what he was thinking about,
was the weapon that lied beyond it. A weapon made
to evade the end of the world, that could save the
world. That kind of thing was further inside, and he
was about to try and take it within his hands.
However, the thought that he would not be deemed
worthy was coming and going deep within his heart.
★
The ritual to undo the seal would begin that night,
which meant the seal would only be removed the
following day. Reiji and the others parted with Faylia
for the moment, and once more boarded the carriage
to return to Attila.
Inside the carriage, there was a strange stuffy
atmosphere which made it feel hot. It couldn't be
helped. The explanation they heard from Faylia
would agitate anyone. Even Titania who was always
calm was unable to calm down and was frequently
moving around her legs restlessly.
Similarly, Reiji was also unable to cool his
excitement. It was possible that he would attain an
extraordinary weapon. It was also something that
nobody was able to use up until now. He didn't have
any sense of being one of the chosen, but to think
that he could be something special did feel a little
good. He wanted to get it into his hands as soon as
possible. He wanted to try it out. While thinking of
this, he gazed at the palm of his hand. And then,
Mizuki suddenly called out to him.
“Hey hey, Reiji-kun.”
“Hm? Mizuki, what's up?”
“There's something that's on my mind from what
Faylia-san told us just now, did Reiji-kun not
notice?”
“Notice what?”
After Mizuki put extra emphasis on her last words
as she asked, Reiji returned her question, and she
made a grim face as she continued.
“Un. Earlier, that person, Faylia-san showed us
that relic and called it the Lachesis Meter right?”
“Un. That's right, what about it?”
“Meter, isn't that a word from our world? It's
English. Also Lachesis, if I remember right, it's the
name of a foreign god.”
“I don't know much about the names of gods, but
I do think you're right about 'meter.'”
But, Reiji didn't really think that was something
that they needed to be concerned with. And as he
looked at Mizuki with a curious gaze, she started to
show her frustration at the fact that he couldn't tell.
“Au... Try remembering it properly, Reiji-kun.”
Reiji did just as he was told, and tried
remembering. As he remembered what happened, he
didn't think there was anything strange about any of
the actions Faylia took when she was talking about
that relic. If Mizuki had something in particular to
doubt, it was those words Lachesis Meter. She
certainly said those words. There was no mistaking
it. But―
“Ah! The movements of her mouth!”
As Reiji realized in a surprised voice, he suddenly
jumped to his feet in the carriage. Seeing that he
finally figured it out, Mizuki was happily nodding
her head repeatedly.
“Yup, that's it. Faylia-san. She properly said
Lachesis Meter. In English―In other words, she
used words from our world.”
“I see. So those were words from Mizuki's world...
Your Royal Highness, try saying them yourself.”
Because it was something brought over from
another world and did no match up with anything in
this world, they had no equivalent phrase to describe
it. Because of that, Titania's words would not be
translated and come out exactly as she spoke with a
somewhat strange and accustomed pronunciation.
“Fu...”
“Ku...”
Hearing Titania's weird pronunciation, Mizuki and
Reiji were unable to bear it and were gushing.
“Please don't laugh both of you! Good grief!”
“Sorry sorry.”
Titania's had become completely red from
embarrassment as Reiji honestly apologized. On the
other hand, the one who made her say it, Graziella,
was smirking with a mean spirited smile. Titania
huffed as she turned her gaze at Graziella. Looking
at the two of them like that, it didn't look like they
got along poorly at all. But setting them aside...
“... I see. Then the person who brought that over
to this world is a human from our world.”
If it was an object named with words from their
world, it was naturally a consequence someone
bringing it over from their world. Though Reiji came
to that conclusion, Mizuki spoke like it was still too
soon for him to arrive at the proper answer.
“That may be right. But in that case, you know?”
At that time, three heroes were summoned to this
world. It was said that one was the one who held the
Sacrament, and the other two were mages. And all
three of them came from the same world.
“... Then in our world, it would mean that there
were also mages.”
The truth that he arrived at was absolutely
shocking. Reiji unintentionally held his breath. He
couldn't believe that those people that came up in
novels existed in his world in secret. Just by thinking
about it, he wasn't able to describe his feelings at all.
While he was having those indescribable feelings, he
could hear a creepy chuckle to his side.
“Fufufufufufufufu, amazing amazing
amaaaaaaazing! Reiji-kun Reiji-kun! There are
mages in our world! It's like the curtain to a great
dream has been rolled up!”
“Mizuki, that's corny...”
“Whatever! You don't need to retort every single
time!”
Mizuki puffed out her cheeks back at Reiji's gag.
But as he would expect, she was happy, she
immediately smiled broadly and couldn't stop
grinning.
“With this Suimei-kun won't be able to just say
I'm a chuunibyou! Rather, I'll finally be able to
prove that I was the one who was right!”
“Looks like it... My condolences to Suimei.”
Her laughter echoed through the carriage and
completely drowned out the young man's pitiful
sigh. In contrast, the other two who were listening to
them from the side were thinking that Reiji and
Mizuki were the actual pitiful ones here though.
While looking at them, Graziella spoke up.
“But to think that the hero at that time and two
others were also summoned from the same world.”
“It just means that kind of thing can happen is all.
There's the exception of us three as well. It might be
because it's just easier to summon people from our
world with that ritual.”
Reiji was thinking along those lines, but Mizuki
seemed to have a somewhat different opinion, and
made a know it all smile from the side.
“But we still don't know right? It's only the stage
where it's a possibility. It's also possible that it is a
parallel world.”
“Parallel world?”
“Un. They are worlds that are almost identical to
the world we live in, and each one holds a different
future. The me in this parallel world ended up
getting summoned here, but the me in another
parallel world may not have been summoned at all.”
“U-n... It's quite complicated isn't it?”
“I see, it is isn't it?”
Wrinkling her brows, Titania was making a stern
expression as Mizuki returned a bitter smile As
expected, a world that had not developed much
didn't have enough imagination to understand what
she was talking about.
“But Mizuki. If there are many other worlds like
that, doesn't that means there would be multiple
versions of me? There's no way that could be.”
“But there's this whole other world isn't there? I
don't think it is something you can just flatly deny
like that right?”
“Does that have any connection to the hero
summoning?”
“Don't you think it's a big event that we were
summoned to another world? Going back and forth
between worlds, no matter how much science
develops from here, I don't think it's something that
can be accomplished.”
“Fumu...”
Hearing Mizuki's explanation, Graziella seemed
somewhat convinced. Suddenly, she drew closer to
Titania's ear.
(If we ask that guy, we may be able to find out all
about this.)
(That's right. If it's Suimei, he probably knows
about it. But...)
Seeing Mizuki act like she had a victory over
Suimei, if she found out the truth, there was no
mistaking she would be completely shocked. Titania
could picture it clearly in her mind, the image of
Mizuki screaming 'Breach of friendship! Breach of
friendship!!'
★
After staying the night at an inn in Attila, Reiji and
the others once more set out for the temple which
kept custody of the relic they went to receive the
previous day. While waiting in the room they were
brought to before, Faylia arrived later than planned.
“I apologize for making you wait.”
“No, don't worry about it. More importantly, has
the seal already been released?”
Faylia nodded back to Reiji's question.
“Yes. We finished releasing all the seals this
morning. It is now possible to enter at anytime.
Then, by all means.”
Saying that, she extended her hand towards the
door. Urged on by her actions, Titania suddenly
called out to the knights following behind her.
“All of you, wait outside. Gregory, please take care
of them.”
“Ha.”
At Titania's command, Gregory acknowledged her
while bowing. On the other hand, it seemed the
Luka was quite interested in the relic and was
somewhat fidgety while looking like she wanted to
go in, but Roffrey simply soothed her with a 'Let's
have them show us later,' as they left.
Graziella also ordered her soldiers to standby at the
entrance. Watching them do so, Mizuki seemed to
have thought of something, and brought herself
closer to Reiji to talk in secret.
“Gregory-san and the others don't seem to get
along poorly with the Empire soldier's huh?”
“You're right. They're soldiers from allied
countries, so maybe it was just needless anxiety on
our part.”
It was one of their worries that came about when
Graziella came along. They had apprehensions that
it might end up breaking out into a fight, but
because they drew the line quite distinctly between
them, they had not collided at all up until now. And
then, perhaps because they were heard, Titania and
Graziella joined in on their secret conversation.
“The Empire is an allied nation at the least, it's just
that it doesn't show on the surface.”
“The ones following me are the ones most suited to
give me counsel. They are all skilled soldiers who
have a record of long military service. As for Astel's
knights, Gregory-dono is present. He should be able
to keep them in line.”
“Ah, ahahah...”
The two of them seemed to have a firm grasp on
their internal affairs. When she said on the surface,
she was implying that in reality, they were shooting
sparks at each other below the surface. Having
discovered this unknown truth, Mizuki couldn't say
anything back and just simply laughed.
As they followed Faylia down a candle lit corridor,
they came upon a staircase headed downwards.
“It's underground?” “Yes. We'll need to descend a
little, but it is just beyond here.”
Saying that, they began descending the staircase,
and partway down, the appearance of passage
completely changed. Up until now, it had the same
motif as the rest of the temple and was made of the
same materials, but the walls were now made of
bare rock and resembled a cave. Captured by the
sensation of entering a limestone cavern, they
followed after Faylia, and came upon an enormous
boulder.
“Is this... A grotto?”
“We're inside the temple, right?”
The storage area of the temple looked completely
different from the rest of the temple. Reiji, who held
doubts about this, stepped forward and asked Faylia
about it.
“Faylia-san. Why is only this part of the temple
made differently?”
“Regarding the location of the seal, it was the
heroes' idea. They said something like, if the location
of the seal took on the shape of a temple, it would
mix with the Goddess' mysticism, and the sealing
spell would weaken. And so, they had to make
another mystical space, or something like that.”
“Hoeh?”
Mizuki made a strange puzzled sound. Just like
her, Reiji also didn't really understand what was
being said. Seeing the confusion on his face, Faylia
continued speaking as if she read his mind.
“What Hero-sama told us, was that the sealing
spell was originally a technique used to suppress the
power of gods, so the power of a god and the power
of the sealing spell would end up weakening each
other or something along those lines.”
“Tia, is that so?”
“My apologies. This is also the first I've heard of
this.”
After asking Titania, Reiji shifted his gaze over to
Graziella. But she also did not appear to know, and
only shrugged her shoulders as she shook her head.
Even for those two who had a firm understanding of
magic, this seemed to be somewhat
incomprehensible.
“Now then, please step back a little.”
Urged by Faylia, Reiji and the others distanced
themselves from her. And then right as they did,
Faylia muttered some words in front of the boulder,
and a magic circle rose to the surface around it. A
high pitched buzz suddenly assaulted their ears.
Before long, the giant boulder made a sound like it
was being dragged along the ground, and started to
move as it split to the sides. Because the air inside the
boulder was released, a stink like a rotten egg had
just been opened flowed into the air.
“Uguu... This is somewhat harsh.”
Graziella reflexively grimaced at the stench.
Unexpectedly, Faylia also pinned down her nose and
turned away from the boulder.
“This stench is because of one of the books the
tyrant possessed. Because of that book, the
surroundings are always covered in moisture and
end up decomposing.”
Hearing that explanation, Mizuki let out an
anxious voice.
“I-is it safe?”
“Yes. Regarding anything that leaks out of it, there
is no longer enough power to bring harm to the
human body.”
“Thanks goodness...”
As Mizuki expressed her relief outwardly, Reiji was
doing the same within his heart. Faylia then pointed
at the culprit of the stench with her finger.
“This is the book that the tyrant had been holding
on to that I just mentioned.”
Beyond Faylia's supple finger was a blackish
bound book that was left in place on top of a
pedestal. The book had a somewhat ominous
atmosphere around it, and just by looking at it they
somehow felt depressed. Looking closely, despite the
fact that the pedestal was made of metal, it had
melted somewhat and had stalactite like drippings
coming down from it and gave a glimpse of the
abnormality of the book.
Graziella seemed intrigued by the book, and drew
nearer to it. Finding fault with her actions, Faylia
raised a fierce voice to restrain her in a menacing
attitude.
“Please wait!”
“What is it? Suddenly raising your voice like that.”
“No, excuse me. That is something that must
never be touched, so I ended up putting a little
strength into my voice.”
“Must never be touched?”
“Yes. That is something that must never be
touched. If a human touches it even once, the evil
god which manipulated the tyrant would take them
over and turn them into a servant. And then, that
nightmare would repeat itself once more.”
Hearing Faylia's explanation, Mizuki raised a
puzzled voice.
“Eh? Wasn't he defeated and everything was
solved?”
“The tyrant died, but the existence which drove
him mad did not seem to be defeated. Because it was
a god, it was not something that humans could
possibly defeat, or something like that.”
“What about the Sacrament that you explained to
us yesterday? Wasn't that a weapon that could kill
gods?”
“Hero-sama said that because the main culprit
was in a place they could not reach, they could not
be defeated.” “I see. So it ended up getting sealed
here.”
Graziella seemed convinced, and after taking a
glance at the book, stepped back towards Reiji and
the others. Certainly, if it was such a dangerous
object, anybody would want to erase it from the
world. Exactly because they were unable to do so, it
had to be sealed. As the introduction of the tyrant's
relic was finished, Faylia pointed out another
pedestal.
“And over there, is what you have been seeking.”
Placed atop a metal pedestal just like the book, was
a small box. Seemingly unaffected by the malicious
aura of the book, the pedestal was still pristine. There
was no signs of any deterioration. After Faylia drew
nearer to it, she quietly picked up the box and
showed it to them.
―And then, just as Elliot had said, inside the box
was an ornament. It resembled a brooch and its
design looked like it was based on a feather with a
silver metallic lustre. And the most noticeable point
of it, was the blue gem placed right at its centre.
“So this is the Sacrament. It's so beautiful...”
“A blue gem. Looks like a lapis lazuli.”
The mysterious blue sparkle entranced all the
women present... Or so Reiji thought.
“... What? Is there something on my face?”
“Ah, no. It's just that I thought it looked pretty.
Doesn't Graziella think so?”
“Umu. All I'm interested in is whether or not it can
be used.”
“...”
The third imperial princess of the Empire didn't
seem to have much interest in fineries. In spite of it
looking like jewellery, she didn't seem to care at all
about its beauty. She also dressed quite roughly, and
probably didn't really care much about being
fashionable. As if nothing mattered unless it had
some form of utility. Graziella then spoke up to
Faylia.
“Is this all?”
“Yes. This is all that was left behind.”
“If there was something else that looked useful I
was hoping to take it though.”
As Graziella stated that, Faylia shook her head.
“The items that the heroes used were all things we
couldn't use. Even if they left them behind, we would
be unable to put them to any use.”
“Is that so?”
“On top of the magic they used being different
from ours, they used very high level techniques as
well. Among them, the technique to use the
Sacrament seemed to be of the highest level, but the
only one that may have been usable to us was also
just this one relic.”
After hearing her story, Reiji spoke up next.
“So Faylia-san. How do we use this... As a
weapon?”
“I also don't really know, but when Hero-sama
changed it from an ornament to a weapon, he held it
in his hand and said some words. It's probable that
those words were the keywords used to awaken the
Sacrament, but...”
“So what were those words?”
“My apologies.”
Faylia bowed down deeply as she apologized. And
then, Titania spoke up next.
“Did you not hear them?”
“I heard them, but I couldn't figure it out. It
seemed to be a sound only the one who used it would
understand.”
“So doesn't that mean nobody can use it?”
“I was told that someone who could use it would
just know. How about taking it in your hand for a
start?”
As Faylia said that, she picked up the Sacrament
and walked over to Reiji. He would know. In other
words, it meant he would be chosen by the weapon.
Whether the weapon had a will, or whether it could
only be used by someone who met certain
conditions, Reiji didn't know how it worked, but as
she said it was something to just try out and see. As
he stepped forward to receive it from Faylia, Mizuki
suddenly raised her voice.
“Reiji-kun!”
“What's up?”
“I was hoping that I could give it a try first~... Or
something.”
“Eh... EH!?”
“I can't?”
“Un... Well I don't really mind, but...”
Though he said that, he was actually reluctant to
do so considering Mizuki's previous criminal record.
Naturally, that criminal record he was thinking of
was her chuunibyou period. Having gained
permission, Mizuki yelled in joy. As Reiji made a
bitter smile, Graziella approached him.
“Is it alright?”
“Well, if I don't let her then Mizuki will pout.”
“And what if Mizuki is granted ownership?”
“Well in that case we'll just need Mizuki to try her
best right?”
“Kukuku, despite coming here because you sought
power, if it became Mizuki's then you'll end up losing
face.”
“You're talking about it like it's amusing.”
“If it ends up like that it will be a funny story after
all.”
Graziella was acting happy, but on the other hand,
Titania was making a severe expression as she drew
nearer.
“Your Imperial Highness, do you intend to make
Reiji-sama a laughing stock?”
“You're making quite the scary face. It's because
you make faces like that that Reiji is frightened of
you right?”
“Eh!? Reiji-sama doesn't think that I'm
frightening!”
“No, I don't really...”
And she figured out that she was being taken for a
ride by Graziella.
“Your Imperial Highness!”
“Wait a sec, don't just forget about me! I'm about
to awaken a legendary weapon here! Watch
properly!”
After stomping on the ground since nobody was
paying attention to her, in a complete turn, she
began creepily laughing like she was a villain about
to take into her hands a treasure which could
conquer the world. It was rather ominous to look at,
but Faylia simply looked at her with a warm smile.
It was like she was looking at a small child dreaming
of being a hero, the calm, pleasant smile of an
affectionate mother. And then, as Mizuki took the
Sacrament from Faylia's hand―
“Fufufu, oh Sacrament! Answer my call~!”
And then she lifted it to the sky.
“Recognize me! Just recognize me! Fuuuuu!
Fuuuuuu!”
Even as she lifted it up and yelled, the Sacrament
didn't do anything at all. And with this, the calamity
that would be Mizuki's regression back into
chuunibyou territory was somehow averted. In
exchange, Mizuki was puffing out her cheeks on the
verge of tears with a mortified expression as she
huddled down into a nook next to the pedestal.
“Then, this time is Reiji-sama's turn.”
“Un.”
Urged on by Titania, Reiji retrieved the Sacrament
from Mizuki. The Sacrament was about the size of
his palm. Since it was made of metal, it was
somewhat cold to the touch. However, while feeling
this sensation in his hand, he could also sense some
sort of power from it. It was something different
from heat, something that wasn't quite mana, a
mysterious pulsation.
(Just from looking at it, I can feel its power
swelling...)
This object in his hand, that shining radiance, was
hope. The light of hope. No matter how far into the
depths of despair they were, this would give those
who looked upon it the power to live another day, it
was the beautiful blue light which showed them
tomorrow. And right now, Reiji would release its
power, and make it his own. And then with that
power, he would defeat the demons, and restore
peace to this world.
The words needed to grant such thoughts, did not
come to mind. However, if he left it to his mouth,
perhaps... Such a hunch came to his mind.
Trusting in that hunch, Reiji lifted the Sacrament,
and opened his mouth.
―And just as he did...
Suddenly, directly behind them, at the entrance to
the grotto, a loud destructive sound rang out that
shook the entire grotto. Reacting to the shock and
the sound, every single person present turned
towards the entrance, and a cloud of dust was
floating there.
The cloud drifted as it drew nearer. To protect their
lungs, each and every one of them sealed their
mouths and partially closed their eyes. Before the
cloud could completely seal their vision, it split in
two and they could see a hand extending out of the
opening. And before long, from that cloud, a single
man appeared.
The tall figure swiped his hand to the side as if he
found the cloud of dust annoying. He had a slender
face and an exquisite beauty to him, his lips were
dyed red in a crimson like colour. At a glimpse one
could mistake him for a woman, but his exposed
upper body revealed a tightened chest, so he was
without a doubt a man. He had copper like rusted
chains wrapped around his arms, legs and torso. At
the tip of his slender fingers, he had long nails like
those of an animal. He had white hair that was
similar to Faylia, but unlike an elf, his ears were
rounded. His eyes were a bloody red which gave him
an indescribable eerie atmosphere.
From his heightened perspective, the man glared
down with his red eyes at Reiji and the others. His
gaze was cool-headed, like he was looking at them as
if they were beings that he held absolutely no
compassion for. Because of that, as if his body was
bound by the tension, Reiji was unable to move. This
seemed to apply to everyone else as well, as they all
looked at the man with a surprised expression while
completely tensed up. As the mysterious man was
gazing at everyone present one by one, Faylia was
the first to speak up.
“... There should have been a strict order for
nobody else to be allowed through here.”
“So it seems. That's why I forcefully made my way
through. Just like this.”
“F-Forcefully... You say?
“It is exactly as it sounds.”
“Who are you? Bastard.”
At Graziella's sudden question, the man abruptly
began laughing. He was smiling like he heard
something pleasant... Or rather, it was more of an
atmosphere where his scornful laughter was leaking
out.
“Is something strange?”
“You would ask my name, you offering? A mere
'meal' dares ask my name?”
“M-meal?”
“That's right. A meal. Every single one of you
damn humans. From the elderly to the babies, every
single one of you are nothing but free range pigs.
Offerings.”
The man declared this audaciously in an arrogant
tone. However, that nonsense that Reiji would
normally just laugh off felt like it was a complete
reality for some reason. He must be a demon. Even
though that thought floated through Reiji's head, he
couldn't sense the power that was held by demons
from that man. The man before his eyes looked like
a human no matter how he looked at him. However,
the red light coming from his eyes, and the way he
made apparent that they were only mere humans to
him stood out clearly. And just as he was doubting
that man's identity...
“―My name is Ilzarl. I am one of the demon
generals who assists the Demon Lord Nakshatra.”
As those words reached their ears, everyone
jumped backwards like they were repelled. Even
Mizuki who was not accustomed to fighting had
done so. They really were repelled. It was due to the
overpowering fighting spirit that Ilzarl fired out. The
phrase demon general just didn't match up with the
man's appearance, and perhaps because she was
unable to believe him, Faylia muttered out like she
was trying to find answers.
“A-a demon general...? No, more importantly,
why are you here...?”
But there was nobody there to answer her. That
voice filled with fear only rang in the air. And then,
Graziella seemed to have recalled something
important.
“Wait. Bastard, what happened to the ones who
were inside the temple?”
“Aah, those guys are spread on the ground here
and there. I ate a few of them, but since I only dealt
with most of them haphazardly, there might just be
a few of them who are still alive.”
“Ku!?”
“You, ate them?”
Both Titania and Graziella raised surprised voices
at Ilzarl's shocking words. Looking at their
expressions, Ilzarl made a face like he was having a
hard time understanding why they were like that.
“What is there to be surprised about? Just now, I
called all you bastards meals did I not?”
“So you're a demon who eats people?”
“That's right. Strictly speaking I'm not a demon...
But that is inconsequential to offerings like you.
More importantly. There should be an object called
the Sacrament here right?”
His gaze was sharp. As if that gaze was
commanding him, Reiji looked down at his hand.
And just as he caught himself doing so, it was too
late. Ilzarl recognized that the Sacrament was in
Reiji's hand.
“So that's it. I heard it was a weapon, was it just
that guy's misunderstanding...? Well whatever, hand
that over to me.”
“No, I won't hand it over.”
As Reiji said this, he pulled out his orichalcum
blade and stepped forward.
“You would stand against me, offering?”
“I am a hero. The hero Reiji.”
“Hou? So you are a dammed hero? Now that you
mention it, I can feel some of the Goddess' power
from you.”
Reiji was surprised that he could sense such a
thing. And then, Ilzarl said something that could not
be allowed to pass.
“... However, in that state, you are still far too
plain. As a meal, you are far too early to consume.”
Ilzarl's mutter sent shivers down Reiji's spine. It
was the natural fear of predators that any living
being held. Even though he held the form of a
human, he was looking at them like they were
nothing but meals. Rajas was also certainly strong.
At that time, Reiji was also gripped by fear.
However, the level of fear he felt from Ilzarl was
different.
He was reminded of monsters he saw in stories
back when he was a child. The drawings of those
monsters were often comical in many ways, but for
an inexplicable reason, what always drove fear into
his heart were the monsters who ate people. It was
just the same here. Even if it was a human, the fear
of a predator was far beyond any other fear he
possessed, it was beyond explanation. While Reiji
was seized in place as he trembled lightly, Titania
began to move.
“Reiji-sama, I will support you!”
“I got it... Mizuki! Fall back as much as you can!
This demon is dangerous!”
“U-un...”
After confirming that Mizuki had fallen back, Reiji
gazed into Ilzarl's domain as it loomed around him.
And then, he could hear a chant from behind him in
a beautiful tone.
“―Oh Wood. Admonish and pressure my enemy.
The serpent that is born from the great forest. Now
at this time, obey my will, and irrationally obliterate
the strong. Solid Snake Bind Murder.”
After reciting a chant, and firing a keyword,
Ilzarl's surroundings swelled up, and tree trunks like
thick branches of ivy burst from the ground and
stretched out. It looked like magic from the wood
attribute. The trees and shrubs grew out as they
wrapped around the surroundings and moved about
like a serpent as they entangled Ilzarl's arms, feet
and torso. It was quite the powerful magic.
The trees were still growing, not only were they
entangling the target, they seemed intent on
crushing him. To shake off so many trees would be
difficult. Eventually, the growing tree trunks
entwined with each other and formed a single solid
trunk. Ilzarl's figure completely vanished. And the
one who fired that magic...
“Faylia-san!?”
“I will also fight. I will provide support, so while
you have the chance―”
“―If that is support, it is support that couldn't even
be compared to shit. With mere trees, did you really
think you could do something to me?”
That exasperated mumble rang through the air.
And the voice's owner, was the one who should have
been trapped within those trees, Ilzarl. That reliable
looking powerful magic fired off by the elf was
blown away. In an instant, thunder roared through
the cave, as an outbreak of red lightning tore
through the trees. And from there, Ilzarl appeared
while leisurely rubbing his neck. It was as if nothing
had happened to him at all.
“―Wha?”
“It had no effect...”
Faylia's surprised voice piled on top of Reiji's
panicked one. Immediately following that, still
standing there listlessly as he was released from the
spell, Ilzarl was making a tired expression like he
was being forced to do a tedious job.
“I'll start with you.”
“Eh―?”
As Ilzarl's gaze shot through Faylia, he swung the
thick chain that was wrapped around his torso.
Completely disregarded the mass of the copper chain
and the laws of physical motion, it assaulted Faylia
accompanied by red lightning.
“―Oh wood. Clad yourself in that sprouting power
and become my shield! Little Forest Bunker!”
Right in front of Faylia, multiple pillar like tree
trunks sprouted up, and shot upwards diagonally.
The tree trunks were not only thick and heavy, but
they were densely packed with mana, so they were
likely far firmer than they looked. And then, because
the wall that sprouted up was inclined, it was
extraordinarily strong against attacks from the
front―Or it was supposed to be.
“As I already said. Mere trees.”
The chain wrapped in red lightning broke through
the wall of trees like they weren't even there. And in
no time at all, they twined around Faylia and bound
her completely. It all happened in the blink of an
eye. She didn't even have any time to react. Wrapped
up in the chains, Ilzarl easily lifted Faylia up into the
air as he swung her around, scrubbing and
slamming her against the stone walls many times
over before finally flinging her aside. Faylia bounced
off the stone wall like a ball and came flying back
towards Reiji and the others.
“Faylia-san, no way...” “Fa-Faylia-san!”
Mizuki quickly rushed over to her side and began
casting healing magic on her. On the other hand,
Ilzarl was not taking any action at all. It was as if he
was waiting for them to bite back at him. There was
no reason to ask why. There was enough of a gap
between their abilities that Ilzarl could easily attack
at any time. Ilzarl did not hold a single doubt
regarding his victory.
As Ilzarl stood there with an air of composure, this
time, Reiji began closing in on him. Shuffling his feet
a little at a time, he closed the distance between
them. But even then, Ilzarl was not agitated in the
least. After shuffling all the way into striking range,
Reiji unleashed a slash at Ilzarl in an instant. It was
a vertical strike like lightning. He was aiming for
Ilzarl's shoulder. However...
“How light.”
“Wha!?”
Lightly raising his left arm with composure, Reiji's
orichalcum blade came to a complete stop. In spite
of striking him on his unprotected bare arm, the
blade did not pass through any of his skin at all. Reiji
didn't hold anything back. It was a strike he made
with all his might. However, it had no effect at all.
Even Rajas wrapped his arm in that dark power to
repel this blade. But here, his strike was being
sneered at like it had no meaning whatsoever.
Seeing that result that he had never seen before
unfold right in front his eyes, Reiji was unable to
move for a single instant due to shock. And
immediately coming down upon him, was Ilzarl's
right palm. No, it was his nails. Those nails which
looked sharp enough to be used as blades came
charging in along with that large hand as it loomed
over Reiji. Reiji promptly put out his orichalcum
sword.
“G-guu...”
By a single hair's breadth, the nails came to a stop.
And at the same time, a terrifying amount of power
pierced through his body and blew out behind him.
That power blew away a cloud of dust like a squall to
his back. If it weren't for the divine protection from
the hero summoning ritual, he would have been
unable to endure that strike and would have been
blown away to the stone wall and died.
“So you can react. Despite being so weak you put
up such a futile struggle...”
“N-not yet...”
Ilzarl took advantage of his height, and pushed
down. A dreadful amount of physical strength was
contained within his arms. Stuck between Ilzarl's
hand and the ground, Reiji's body began creaking.
His bones were making an ominous sound like they
were about to crack. His feet began sinking into the
grotto floor.
He couldn't escape. He couldn't even ward it off to
the side, Ilzarl's power was just far too strong, it took
all his effort just to endure it. An unpleasant sweat
was pouring down his brow that felt worst than any
regular or cold sweat.
When he paid attention, he could sense mana
swelling up behind him. It was Titania's support.
However, maybe because it didn't have much power,
Ilzarl did not even shift his gaze, and only
indifferently looked down on Reiji. The wind magic
was fired off, but even though it directly struck
Ilzarl's body, he did not stir a single inch. Seeing that
play out, Titania let out a bitter groan.
“Ku... Magic is practically useless...”
“I will do it. Your Royal Highness, go save Reiji.”
“―Ku, understood.”
After Titania acknowledged her, Graziella stepped
forward and unleashed her mana.
“―Oh Earth. Become the crystallization of my
tyranny. Take hold of unyielding power and crush
the one before me. Thus, become a monument
which will praise their glorious death.”
Graziella's chant resounded through the grotto.
Before he knew it, Reiji caught sight of Titania's
figure closing in. Her hands were hidden behind her
back as she ran towards him.
“Tia!?”
“Reiji-sama! Ward him off with all your might!
After that leave it to me!”
“U-un!”
Honestly obeying Titania's instructions, he put all
his strength into pushing Ilzarl's hand to the side.
Immediately following that, Reiji's body was caught
by Titania and thrown to the side. As Ilzarl's hand
struck the ground, Graziella fired out her keyword.
“Crystal Raid!”
The gypsum on the ground rose to the air and
broke into a countless number of splinters, and then
accelerated like cannonballs as they rushed towards
Ilzarl's completely open body. Since earth magic had
a good amount of weight behind it, it had more
destructive power than other magics. And then,
because the stones she was firing were tapered into a
sharp point, they worked well against bodies of
flesh... Or they were supposed to anyways.
“Even this amount of destructive power is futile!?
You damn monster!”
The many pointed stones flying at Ilzarl struck
him and fell to the floor right as they did. As the
mana vanished from them, the stones were reduced
to pebbles. Along Ilzarl's body, there was not a single
wound present.
“―Oh Earth! Become a crystallization of my
tyranny! Take hold of unyielding power and crush
the one before me, sharpen like the blade of a sword!
The monument which praises their glorious death, is
a shining brilliant sword marking their grave!
Crystal Raid Refine!”
Graziella let out a different chant from the magic
she just used. All the rocks that floated in the air
extended and became thin and sharp like swords. As
Graziella swung her thrust out arm to the side, rocks
once more flooded towards Ilzarl.
“Then how about this!?”
“Fuu, it doesn't matter how much magic you fire
woman, it is futile! KAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
And right at the moment the stone swords reached
Ilzarl's body, he fired out a voice loud enough to
shatter their eardrums. The sound waves shook the
entire grotto, but more importantly, everything born
of Graziella's magic fell to the ground exactly where
they were.
“Ridiculous! To repel magic using only his voice...”
As Graziella muttered in a dumbfounded state,
Ilzarl gaze captured her. Having blood thirst and
fighting spirit turned towards her, Graziella panicked
and jumped away from where she was.
“Ku... This is a bad location. I can't use the Devil
Connect here...”
She muttered in a bitter tone. Because of where
they were, her trump card which teleported a
massive rock could not be used. In grief at not being
able to use all her powers, she tried to retreat to the
back.
“Too slow.”
After casting his gaze on her, he must have
identified her as prey. His leap far surpassed the
distance of Graziella's retreat, and he closed the
distance between them in a single breath.
“Shi―!?”
“Look out!”
“Reiji-sama!?”
Witnessing Graziella's crisis right before his eyes,
Reiji separated himself from Titania's arms and
leaped. He was charging right towards Graziella.
Seeing his companion in danger, his brain rang
alarm bells and accelerated his body.
After stepping in, Ilzarl unleashed his right leg.
Graziella's face was steeped in despair. Titania and
Mizuki's voice filled the air. And as Ilzarl's kick was
flying in to decapitate Graziella, Reiji swung his
sword at that outstretched leg with all his strength.
“UOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!”
It felt like he struck a mass of hard metal. Due to
the sheer difference in strength between then, he was
unable to blow back that leg. However, he did at
least dampen its power somewhat. And on the spur
of the moment, Reiji made his decision. The moment
he used up all of his strength, Reiji let go of his
orichalcum sword and jumped at Graziella to break
away.
Holding tightly on to her, the two of them tumbled
to the ground. Because he had leaped with all his
energy and covered for Graziella, his back was
knocked against the ground a countless number of
times. As their vigour weakened and they came to a
stop, Graziella yelled as she came to an
understanding of what just happened.
“Are you an idiot!? Why did you save me!?”
“Why you say, cause you were in danger, I just...”
“Just what!? You're a hero! What do you intend
on accomplishing by covering for me!?”
Seized by the pain and swaying, while his
consciousness had gotten hazy, Reiji was thinking
that for the arrogant Graziella, it was a somewhat
unexpected reprimand. She was speaking in a way
like she was telling him that he was underestimating
their enemy, but she properly understood that it was
imperative that the hero's safety should take a
priority.
―Sorry. The word naturally came to Reiji's head.
That was not just intended for Graziella, but also for
Titania and Mizuki who continued to believe in him,
and also for those important people that weren't
present. The reason he wanted to apologize didn't
need to be said.
Reiji heaved Graziella off to the side.
“You complete moron―!!”
“Reiji-sama!!”
“Reiji-kun!!”
It's fine like this. And just at the moment that he
convinced himself, he could feel a terrifying presence
approaching from behind.
“Covering for a woman!? What a boring way to
meet your end, hero!”
“Ku...”
He was going to die here. Just as he came to that
conclusion, a blue wind suddenly blew past his eyes.
“Mu?”
Just as he thought that he heard a puzzled voice
come from Ilzarl, Ilzarl leaped backwards. Seeing
this, Reiji promptly turned around. Cutting in
between himself and Ilzarl, was Titania, with two
swords crossed at the ready.
“Eh!? Tia!? What's with those swords...”
“Leave that for later Reiji-sama! For now use all
your strength to fall back!”
Recognizing the meaning behind her words, Reiji
retreated from the battle.
Before he knew it, Titania had covered her mouth
with the collar of her overcoat and had her swords
prepared in an underhanded grip. And just as he was
thinking of that, Titania vanished from his field of
vision. Just as if she had teleported, she appeared
behind Ilzarl and charged in.
As Ilzarl sensed her presence and turned around,
Titania vanished again without making any attacks.
And then, she once more appeared behind Ilzarl's
back, and this time, she truly intended to strike, and
Ilzarl used his chains to protect himself and stop her
strike.
“Tch, buzzing around...”
Ilzarl muttered with an annoyed voice. And then,
Titania's figure vanished again.
“Amazing...”
Reiji inadvertently muttered a childlike admiration
from his mouth.
Titania was moving around like she was toying
with Ilzarl. Even with Reiji's kinetic vision that he
gained from the divine protection of the hero
summoning ritual, he could just barely make out her
movements. The flying copper chains were repelled
by her sword, and whenever she closed in she would
continuously assault him with sword strikes from
both swords.
In response, Ilzarl was taking evasive action. Even
though he just stood there and blocked Reiji's sword
techniques, he didn't seem to want to be hit by
Titania's, and was stepping in a way as to escape her
blade. Moreover, Titania's sword techniques held a
peculiar characteristic in the way they drew an arc
in the air with her slashes, so dodging those required
him to move much more than dodging a regular
sword slash.
Titania's slashes showed no signs of stopping.
Finding an opening in Ilzarl's defences, she came
soaring in. Immediately following that, she let out a
crossed slash from her blades right at Ilzarl's
face―and then landed on the ground after leaping
back.
It certainly looked like her mithril swords caught
Ilzarl right in the face. However...
“Even though you don't possess the divine
protection of the Goddess, you put up a much better
fight. Also―”
All that her slashes were able to catch, was single
layer of skin on Ilzarl's cheek. In spite of being right
in front of Titania's eyes, Ilzarl fearlessly wiped away
the blood with his finger and gazed at it as if to
check.
“It's been a long time since I was dealt a wound,
but to think it would be something from a mere
human.”
“Don't underestimate me!”
“But, that's as far as you go.”
Titania howled back at him as she broke into a
dash and closed in once more. Ilzarl meanwhile,
simply casually waved his hand. It was a sharp
attack from his nails. In an instant, matching the
number of his fingers, five enormous slashes
assaulted the bare rock, forcing Titania to come to a
halt. Looking closely, Ilzarl's chains were floating
and their tips were divided into ends. The divided and
floating chains were shaped like anchors, and
wrapped around Titania's vicinity before plunging
into the ground. It was just like a chain cage.
“Tia!”
“―Ku! Oh Earth! Surround me and become a solid
protective wall! Absolutely none shall pass even even
after this life is extinguished! Room Wall Raising!”
Immediately following Titania's chant, a wall of
mud formed between her and the chains right as red
lightning came pouring in. As the mud wall was
wrapped up in the crimson and jet black flickering, it
was struck repeatedly by lightning and the wall was
completely blown away, it crumbled far too easily.
Titania's body was now exposed, and in an outbreak
of white smoke, her figure vanished.
“TIAAAAAAAA!”
Completely drowned out by the roaring thunder,
Reiji screamed as loud as he could. However, there
was no voice that called back to him.
“N-no way...”
Reiji could hear Mizuki mutter in despair. Every
single person present shared her feelings and were
holding their breath.
... A cloud of white smoke was rising up clad in red
lightning. The red lightning was a powerful attack
which easily destroyed Faylia's magic. And what was
struck by it, was Titania's slender body that did not
have the divine protection of the hero summoning
ritual. Nobody thought that she could withstand it.
However, as the white smoke dispersed, the figure of
a girl on her knees appeared.
“N-not yet...”
“So your defences made it by a hair's breadth.
However―”
Pulling up the chains on the ground, he wrapped
them around Titania. And then, shaking her off like
an annoying pest, he threw her towards Reiji and the
others.
“Ga, Haa.... ah...”
Unable to move her body, she bounced across the
ground. She was headed right towards the pedestal
where the tyrant's relic was being kept, and just like
that, Titania crashed against it and sent the book
flying off the pedestal.
The book landed right at Ilzarl's feet. His eyes were
attracted to it as it came to a stop, and Ilzarl stooped
down to pick it up. Seeing this, Faylia, who was still
being supported by Mizuki, yelled.
“That's!”
“What? What's wrong with this?”
“Y-you mustn't touch that!”
Her scream seemed like she was trying to protect
herself, but that was not the case. If it was just as
Faylia said, anyone who touched that book would
become just like the tyrant. If a demon general did
so, the outcome would be unimaginable.
“Fuu, certainly there is an ominous feeling coming
from this.”
“If you understand that then...”
Don't touch it. Please don't touch it. I'm begging
you. She was trying to say those words, however...
“But―It's not like I don't have any memories of
this kind of thing.”
Rejecting her wish, Ilzarl picked up the book.
However, nothing changed. Ilzarl only scrutinized
the book as nothing went as Faylia had said.
“... Why? After touching that, how are you staying
sane...?”
“Regarding that, it is a privilege of this body. At
any rate, to think there is another power similar to
Zekaraia...”
Ilzarl was meaningfully muttering as he tucked
the book on his back using his chains.
“I will be taking this―Now then, the only ones
who can move properly here are, the bastard hero,
and that woman in the back right?”
“Kuu...”
Ilzarl was gazing at both Reiji and Mizuki, and
began walking towards them. He dealt with
Graizella, and also easily defeated Titania who was
able to put up such a fierce fight. He was a monster.
Without a shadow of doubt. Right now, Reiji did not
have a sword in his hands. Because he let go if it
earlier, he was unarmed. Even if he fired magic, he
didn't think it would have any effect. There was
absolutely nothing left that he could do.
“... Reiji, take Mizuki and run away.”
“Eh...?”
“If a hero dies here, then everything will be lost. I
will hold that guy back. Go.”
“B-but.”
As Reiji hesitated, Titania got back up and followed
after Graziella.
“R-Reiji-sama. It is just as her Imperial Highness
says, don't mind us and just run away.”
“No way! I can't just leave everyone behind!”
“Your concern is needless. Her Imperial Highness
and Faylia-dono are both here with me.”
“Reiji, you go do what it is that you must. Would
you have him take that weapon and kill you as well?
If even one of the bastions known as the heroes falls,
the demons' fervour will only grow ever stronger.”
“B-but.”
“You should have that resolve. If you don't want
to abandon anyone else. Go. At this rate, everyone
here will only die in vain.”
“...”
“In the worst case, use her Royal Highness as a
shield and run away.”
Graziella grinned as she showed her teeth. She was
likely intending to convey her composure, but in this
situation, Reiji could only hear it as her heroic
determination.
“Have you finished your little meeting before you
die?”
A shadow was drawing nearer at a composed pace.
To Reiji, it looked just like a grim reaper. As he was
right now, it was an opponent he could never win
against. His only choice was to run away. Just as
they told him to. Even if he didn't want to, there
wouldn't be a single person who would forgive him
for his egotistic attitude.
“No―”
And then, he suddenly realized. No, he still had the
Sacrament that he put away before drawing his
sword. But, he didn't know whether or not he could
use it. There were special words needed to awaken
that weapon, and they didn't come to Reiji's mind.
“Ku...”
Reiji ground his teeth at his helplessness. Graziella
and Titania's voices were urging him to leave.
Mizuki was looking at him with a worried gaze. As
the time where he had to make a cruel choice drew
nearer, he could hear a whisper in his head. Is it
really alright to run away? What do you intend on
doing by not demonstrating your power here? What
will you do if you cannot save them? The only thing
that could be whispering to him, was the object in
his hand. Thus, tightly, as tightly as he could, he
gripped the Sacrament. And...
“Awaken... WAKE
UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!”
It was a voice much louder than Reiji thought he
could possibly let out. Having that choice looming
down over him, it was a roar which rebelled against
fate. And towards that shout which contained his
wishes, the Sacrament―answered.
For an instant, the blue gem installed at the centre
of the ornament let out a strong radiance, and a
gentle blue wave fired off into his surroundings. And
then he noticed, everything around him had become
black and white and no longer moved. Mizuki,
Titania, Graziella, Faylia, and even Ilzarl were no
exceptions to this. Time had become monochrome
and came to a complete stop, and as if to express
that only Reiji and the Sacrament were exceptions to
this, they held a strong hue to them.
Eventually, the blue wave returned to the gem as
if it was rewinding. And before he knew it, the
ornament in his hand had become a blue sword
which gave off a cold brilliance.
“I did it...”
It's shape was a narrow longsword. It was a
sword, but looking at it from the perspective of this
world and the modern world, completely unlike a
sword, the tip and the edge of the blade was made of
a metal which resembled white porcelain, and at the
centre of the blade was a beautiful blue enameled
design that looked like a work of art. The grip was a
stylish blend of a white and blue shaped like a collar,
and imitating a guard were two porcelain like white
wings standing up atop a two fold circle. And in that
circle, was a blue gem which seemed like the
crystallization of lightning as it shined brightly.
It was made in such a way that one would not
doubt that it was a weapon from the future, but it
also had an aspect of it that made it seem like an
ancient work of art. Seeing the manifestation of that
weapon, Titania and Graziella's shocked voices rang
in the air.
“Reiji-sama!”
“Reiji, you...”
Reiji was also still gripped in surprise, and as he
casually turned around, he could see Mizuki's
cheerful face filled to the brim with energy.
Immediately following that, he could sense a
presence jumping in, and exactly where he was just
standing, an enormous copper chain passed by in a
flash.
“Fuu. So that's why he called it a weapon. I see,
that's quite the amusing object huh...”
As Ilzarl leisurely let out his impression, his sharp
gaze still did not appear clouded in the least. Reiji
then turned the Sacrament towards that man whose
attitude had not changed at all since the very
beginning. And then, as if the Sacrament was
responding to Reiji's will, it sucked in his mana, and
began moving.
The two white circles which were crossing each
other diagonally began revolving in opposite
directions, and the porcelain wings let out a pleasant
chill along with particles and a vapour formed of
mana that crawled up his arm. It began moving like
an internal combustion engine and those vibrations
were passed through his hands.
The reason why he was unable to suppress the
shaking, was either because of the sword itself
pulsating, or because he was trembling from the
irrepressible urge as he eagerly awaited to use it. A
shining blue magic circle formed at his feet. And as
he swung the sword to his side, the air touched by
the tip of his blade formed a blue crystal trail and
scattered into tiny pieces.
The spread out crystallized chain froze the air and
ground before him. It felt like it wasn't accompanied
by any sense of intensity. Compared to the magic
used by Titania, Graziella and Faylia, it was relaxed,
and he could barely feel any power from it. But that
gentle power was tremendous.
“K-ku―!?”
The moment the crystals were about to reach
Ilzarl, he must have sensed the subtleties behind it
and leaped away. The tip of the chain that did not
make it far enough away was frozen, became blue,
and then shattered. That chain which broke through
Faylia's powerful magic was destroyed with ease.
“The crystal sword Ishar Cluster...”
The name of the sword suddenly came to his
mind. Faylia said it was something that could freeze
anything in existence, but that was wrong. It was
likely that by the power of that sword, objects simply
took a frozen shape.
... However, for some reason, he could see Ilzarl's
movement become sluggish. The sword's
manifestation, the use of its power, even though he
had shown plenty of openings while doing so, for
some reason he couldn't sense Ilzarl aiming for those
openings. Was it simply the negligence born of the
composure of the strong? While Reiji was thinking of
such things, he firmly gripped the Ishar Cluster's
grip and leaped towards Ilzarl.
“Eh? Eeh!?”
And just then, Reiji let out a surprised voice. He
was leaping at a speed that he never experienced
before. He went much further than he thought he
would at a much faster speed. That action which
exceeded his control caused him to panic in the air.
Thinking it would be bad at this rate, he fluttered in
the air and stuck out his left hand to land, then
spread out both his legs widely and used those three
points to brake against the ground. Slowly chipping
away at the vigour of his movement, sand and dirt
was being kicked up behind him as he slid across the
ground.
“I stopped...”
Without bumping against the wall, Reiji let out a
sigh of relief. And then, he suddenly realized that he
was full of openings―
“Behind me!?”
“Eh...?”
As Ilzarl yelled in shock, Reiji let out his
bewilderment. When he realized, everyone was
looking at him in surprise. It was like something
unimaginable had just happened. Looking at that, he
though to himself that it was impossible, as a guess
came to mind. It wasn't just Reiji who was surprised
at his movements, the reason their surprise came
later than his, was because nobody was able to react.
The reason Ilzarl's reaction seemed so slow, was
probably because Reiji's own senses had been
accelerated.
Holding that conjecture to his chest, he
concentrated his gaze on Ilzarl's movements. And
just as he thought, he felt that Ilzarl was moving
much slower than before. It was slow enough that
he had some composure to react towards them. And
then, for some reason, seeing those movements, that
absolute despair that he had been clinging to earlier
from the difference in their power had vanished into
thin air.
The copper chain which came flying at him was
blocked by the Ishar Cluster. He could feel its weight
with his arms, but he was able to dampen it in a way
that could not be compared to the time he caught
Ilzarl's nails.
“This is, the power of this sword―” “... I see. That's
why that guy said it could even reach Zekaraia. To
think it could lift up a mere offering to at least be
able to put up a fight.”
Reiji could hear surprise in Ilzarl's voice, but he
still seemed to be quite composed. Certainly, the
despair that came from their difference in power was
no longer in Reiji's mind, but even so, he could still
get the sense of a dominating strength coming from
Ilzarl. In this case, he should fully unleash the power
of the sword. As Reiji decided this, he stabbed the tip
of the Ishar Cluster into the ground with all his
strength.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOH!”
Along with a roar, the Ishar Cluster began to
radically suck his mana out, and the ground began
to crystallize with enormous looking crystal ores.
Without specifically wrapping around Ilzarl, they
encroached upon the entire grotto. Ilzarl resisted and
wielded his chains wrapped in red lightning to fend it
off, but the smashed crystal would continue
spreading, and eventually even the chains that were
being used to smash the crystals began to freeze. At
this rate, he could do it. He could cross swords with
him. And just as Reiji was thinking that...
“―Eh? Uu, Ah... Wh-what...?”
Suddenly his vision was shaky. It was as if he was
suddenly struck by dizziness. And just like that, his
knees gave way and he staggered like he had no
more strength in his body. And then, the domain of
crystallized blue ore shattered as one and vanished.
“Reiji-sama!?”
“My body... All the mana, was sucked up...”
“With this much power, it is obvious it would
require a significant amount of mana. It just means
that this weapon is more than you can handle.”
Thrusting forth a phrase like he knew all about it,
Ilzarl drew closer. And once more, there was nothing
that Reiji could do.
★
Ilzarl was once more closing in on Reiji who had
excessively used his power. This time, he would no
longer be able to get away. Watching this happen
right before her eyes, Mizuki was driven by an
impatient feeling.
It was exactly the same as when they fought
Rajas. Once again, she was tasting her
powerlessness. However, in this place, because she
was a hindrance, she had no choice but to fall to the
back. If it was like that, was there any meaning to
her following along saying that she would help him?
As she asked herself, that question floated up in her
head and vanished.
―Do you wish to fight?
Suddenly, she heard those words from somewhere.
“Eh? Who?”
While supporting Faylia who was sweating from
the pain, she searched for the source of that voice
and looked around. However, naturally, it was not
the voice of anybody present. As she was completely
bewildered by that situation, the voice once more
rang out of of nowhere.
―Tell me. Do you wish to fight? Or do you not?
She couldn't understand what the intent behind
that question was. But Mizuki's answer had been
determined a long time ago.
“I also, want to fight. I want to be useful to
everyone...”
Immediately after putting her true feelings into
words without a hint of lying, Mizuki's consciousness
slipped away into the darkness.
★
In another sudden turn of events, right as Reiji fell
to his knees.
BAAA~~~~~AANG!
With a completely strange and incomprehensible
sound, the air between Reiji and Ilzarl exploded.
“U-uwa....”
“W-what is it this time!?”
Reiji covered his face from the explosion in front of
him, while Ilzarl leaped back from where he was
standing, but the explosion chased him all the way to
the grotto wall. And then, Reiji could hear something
behind him...
“FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”
It was a familiar voice, a loud laughter that he
remembered hearing before, and it rang through the
entire grotto. Reiji suddenly had a terrible feeling and
immediately turned around. And there, he could see
Mizuki standing, with her arms crossed, making a
haughty pose while firing out her loud laughter.
“M-Mizuki!?”
“O-oi, what's the matter all of a sudden, Mizuki!?”
Titania and Graziella both fired off baffled voices
towards Mizuki. And the answer that was returned
to the two of them was...
“My name is not Mizuki!!”
Hearing that nonsensical declaration, a '!' and '?'
was surely floating inside everyone's heads. And
then, as everyone returned their bewilderment with
a 'Then who are you!?' all at once...
“―Every single one of you! You shall do well to
listen carefully! My name is Io Kuzami! The
ultimate ruler who controls everything in all these
three thousand worlds, the Holy King of the
Heavens, Io Kuzami!”
And then, what followed her declaration, was
Reiji's shriek.
“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!?”
Reiji had completely forgotten that he was sitting
on the ground exhausted of mana, and let out a
tremendous voice. To him, this situation was the
most impossible thing that could happen. Seeing him
completely lose his composure, Titania called out to
him in complete bewilderment.
“R-Reiji-sama?”
“M-Mizuki-san! Mizuki-san! That's, just, wait, this
isn't the time for this!”
“What are you saying!? If not now then when
would you say it is the time!?
FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Just how was she in such high spirits? Completely
denying Reiji's words, she began laughing with
extreme vigour. Seeing this mysterious situation,
Ilzarl, who had retreated back to the wall, looked
daunted as he let out a somewhat astonished voice.
“What? Did you lose your mind?”
“What a rude fellow. This mind of mine has not
been lost in the least!”
Saying that, Mizuki suddenly pinned down her left
eye.
“It throbs... It aches... This left eye of mine. It is
throbbing sonorously as it furiously demands I
obliterate the scoundrel who has wronged me...”
Looking closely, one of Mizuki's eye was shining
with a golden glow. Even though both her eyes
should have been the same colour up until now,
before Reiji knew it, they had become
heterochromatic just like she always admired long
ago.
“Hear me, oh half naked man! From here, I shall
grant you a fate beyond this plane and drop you into
the eternal glacier known as the depths of hell born
of God's twisted mind!”
“...”
“You should feel honoured! For soon you will be
lining up before the great Demon King!
FUHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Mizuki thrust her finger at Ilzarl as she made that
declaration filled to the absolute brim with self
confidence. On the other hand, Reiji was also
pointing his finger at Mizuki, and was flapping his
mouth open and closed like a fish. As for Ilzarl, as
expected, her boasting didn't sit well with him, and
he seemed rather irritated. His feet sank into the
ground as he stepped forward firmly, and he fired
out a terrifying presence.
“To think that you would be unable to understand
the exquisite words that come out of this mouth of
mine! You absolute fool with inadequate brains!
Take this!”
And just as she said that, a colossal amount of
mana was released from Mizuki's body.
“Eh!?”
“What!?”
Those surprised voices came from Reiji, as well as
Ilzarl. On one hand, was the close friend who had
travelled along with her all this time who was
surprised at her irregular quantity of mana. On the
other, was the enemy in absolute shock at the
dreadful amount of mana being released by the one
before his eyes. As Ilzarl put himself on guard,
Mizuki began chanting.
“―Oh flames and earth. Become glorious and raise
an innocent voice. My temple stands firm in this
place, become the red hot iron next to the full blown
furnace, and flood over all before me. Follow my
hand, Cathedral Forge!”
Oh flames and earth. What Reiji heard was a
composite spell that he had never heard before. And
the keyword she used, a cathedral forge.
Immediately following those words, multiple stone
pillars shot up from the ground around Mizuki.
Before long, with her standing atop its centre, right
up to the limits of the immense grotto itself, a small
temple took form. And just as Reiji was thinking of
that, the stone pillars became red hot, and as they
overflowed, magma was born in the surroundings.
“Climb up! If you bastards waste any time then
you will also be caught in the flood of this
incandescent red blood of mine!”
“Eh? Ah, un!”
Following Mizuki's direction, Reiji and the others
climbed up to her position. And soon, the floor of the
grotto sank into boiling red lava, turned into a
tsunami, and rushed in at Ilzarl.
“This is bad, we won't be able to breathe! Mizuki!”
Seeing the tremendous ratio of magma present,
Reiji panicked. At this rate, the gas and heat
generated by the magma would burn all the oxygen
in the air and they wouldn't be able to breathe. He
immediately complained to Mizuki to urge her to
stop her magic, but...
“Do not fear. Even in such a sealed space, as long
as you remain within this Cathedral Forge of mine,
you need not worry about air. Though there seems
to be an exception outside as well―”
“An exception?”
“Cast thine gaze upon that.”
Saying that, Mizuki pointed out Ilzarl with her
gaze. As Reiji lined up his sight with hers, he could
see the magma around him exploding, and
appearing from that explosion, was the demon
general Ilzarl.
“This destructive power is...”
While Ilzarl was muttering, he looked at his own
hands carefully. He was certainly covered by that
flood of magma, but perhaps because of some sort of
resistance, the only change was that his skin had
reddened slightly. It was almost akin to a simple
sunburn.
“No way, even after being drowned like that
there's practically no damage...”
“A monster through and through.”
Reiji could hear Titania and Graziella's terrified
voices. On the other hand, Mizuki was letting out a
creepy laugh.
“With those circumstances, only his skin was
slightly injured is it? Kukuku, as one would expect,
demi-ogre. To withstand that magic with curable
wounds, it looked to me as if you shook off this
magic of mine with only your mana. Such a
profound black even deeper than the darkness thrust
forth by the King of Hell, you may accept my
praise.”
Mizuki's declaration as she became intoxicated
with her imagination dealt a painful blow to Reiji.
However, Ilzarl seemed to be ignoring that.
“It has been a long time since I've seen someone
who could properly use magic. It reminds me of the
howl of the dragonnewts.”
“Do not group me together with such a thing! I
am the Holy King of the Heavens! A unique
existence throughout all heaven and earth!”
She unleashed fearless words in a haughty
manner, but Ilzarl didn't seem to really pay her any
mind, and snorted. And then, he made an expression
like his interest was waning.
“You really are prattling on about nothing but
incomprehensible things, you mere offering. But,
whatever.”
Saying that, for some reason, Ilzarl turned his
back to them. And then just like that, he started to
head towards the exit of the grotto. Seeing that,
Mizuki looked at him with a disturbed gaze.
“Why are you resigning? Did you not want that
Sacrament or whatever it was, bastard?”
“I can eat offerings like you whenever I want. If
I'm going to do so, it would simply be best to do so
'when it is perfectly ready.' Until then, I will leave
that Sacrament or whatever in your hands.”
“I do not mind even if you do not wait you know?
Or perhaps you fear this power of mine?”
As Mizuki repeatedly fired off provocative words,
Titania called out to her indicating with her eyes that
it would be bad to continue.
“M-Mizuki...”
“Do not fear. If it is I, then he is an opponent who
can be defeated.”
Without looking back at her, Mizuki spoke out
while still completely focused on Ilzarl. Having
regressed back into her chuunibyou state, she was
completely filled with an inexplicable level of self
confidence.
“You mere offering. Don't speak with such conceit.
I'm saying that I will let you off. You should simply
shiver in place like the others.”
“... Fuu.”
As Ilzarl shot over a gaze that felt like it could kill
someone, yet Mizuki let out a snort in dissatisfaction.
And then, Ilzarl squinted his eyes, and muttered
something.
“... Just doing what that guy says, now that I
think of it, it would just peeve me too.”
Nobody could hear what he said. All Reiji could
somehow sense, was that his voice was somewhat
discontent.
... And then, the back of the demon who easily
handled the power of the hero and his companions
vanished. Before long, Reiji and the others were
struck with relief, and completely loosened their
bodies that had stiffened due to the tension.
“W-we're alive...”
Reiji's hands couldn't stop shaking. Titania and the
others also seemed to be completely spent, and all
loosely dropped their shoulders as they stared at the
entrance to the grotto dumbfounded.
“Seriously, to think he just up and left...”
“Just what did that demon want to do...”
Ilzarl only came in, laid waste to the area, and left.
He seemed to want the Sacrament, but perhaps that
priority was fairly low to him, and in the end he
didn't bother stealing it. Suddenly, Reiji remembered
something more important than that.
“That's right! Mizuki!”
“What is the matter? Suddenly raising thine voice
like that, my beloved fiancé.”
“Fi-Fia!?”
Reiji was completely stunned by her shocking
declaration and was unable to speak. Seeing that he
was magnificently bewildered, Mizuki cocked her
head to the side.
“What? Is there something strange?”
“Strange you say!? It's strange! What's been going
on with you just now, seriously!?”
“There is nothing going on though? On the
contrary, just why are you so perturbed?”
Saying that, Mizuki was broadly grinning with a
smile like she was just toying with him. Reiji was
completely bewildered and could not tell what she
was thinking at all. Suddenly, Titania then called out
to him.
“Reiji-sama, more importantly, shall we get out of
here? There is Mizuki's matter, but I'm also worried
about Faylia-dono's condition as well as Gregory and
the others.”
“Aah, un. Got it...”
Titania's suggestion was the most reasonable thing
being said. However, while carrying on to a deep
anxiety that could not simply be summed up in
words, Reiji lent his shoulder to Faylia and left the
grotto behind.
★
―Speaking from the results, Astel's knights and the
soldiers Graziella brought with her from Nelferia
were injured but there was no threat to their lives.
From what Reiji heard from them, after seeing
them off deeper into the temple, Ilzarl suddenly
pushed in. At first they thought he was just someone
shady, and the monks from the Salvation Church
simply turned him away, but Ilzarl began to eat
those monks as he scattered them around, and a
battle broke out. The spell casters from the church
weren't able to deal with him at all, and every last
one of them that tried to fend him off seemed to
have been eaten.
But, perhaps because he ate his fill, by the time
Gregory and the others arrived he seemed to have
lost interest, and didn't even put much effort into
fighting. If there was something to be thankful for, it
was just that.
Currently, everyone had been treated by healing
magic and were resting in a separate room together
with Faylia. As for Reiji and the others, they were
borrowing a room within the temple and gathered
together. Remembering the fight with Ilzarl, Titania
let out a sigh.
“He was a preposterous opponent wasn't he?”
“The demon general, Ilzarl... We have to face that
kind of opponent from here on huh.”
Reiji's words that were not intended for anyone in
particular had no strength behind them. Ilzarl was
just that much of a terrifyingly formidable enemy.
Thinking of that demon, his own powerlessness, and
his own foolishness at extravagantly saying that he
would fight despite such powerlessness, were things
that he fully understood now.
The fact that they had to fight against strong
enemies was something he understood back when he
fought Rajas. Naturally, he was resolved to do so.
But for them to be so overwhelming, for an
opponent to show up where he was unable to do a
single thing, it was beyond his expectations.
He was able to attain the Sacrament. However, the
weapon had reverted back to its form as an
ornament, and even if he tried turning it back into a
weapon, it would not so much as budge. If he once
more came across that demon general like this, he
would only be completely at a loss once again.
Was it really all right like this? This question filled
his heart with anxiety. He wasn't the only one
gripped by anxiety. Both Titania and Graziella were
the same. They were both depressed as they thought
about the fight with Ilzarl, and their usual energy
and forward facing outlook could not be felt at all.
Ilzarl and the Sacrament were both important
matters, but Reiji set them both aside for the
moment―
“Fumu, what is the matter? My dear fiancé for
whom my justice known as desire burns hotter than
a scorching dragon's heart as he sleeps at the bottom
of the earth, and is more valuable than the great
existences known as angels which are servants of
mine. For a while now, your complexion has been
rather poor you know?”
“Whose fault is that...?”
“Are you implying that it is a fault of mine? What
a rude way of talking... Well, I shall let it be.”
Mizuki's speech and conduct were one thing, but
in the end, there really was something different
about her. Even following the flow of her attitude as
she haughtily named herself Io Kuzami, it only
brought about a recollection of unease for Reiji.
And what stood out the most was her eye. One of
her black eyes was giving off a golden shine and
become heterochromatic.
Ever since they left the grotto, she always had her
arms crossed with a haughty attitude as she acted
happily. Currently, she was in the room they
borrowed in the temple as Reiji looked at her with a
complicated expression. Titania and Graziella were
also unable to hide the fact that they were thrown
out of order as they looked at her.
“How should I put it, Mizuki, isn't it about time
you put an end to that setting? Isn't it the dark
history of your past?”
“I am not Mizuki. I am the Holy King of the
Heavens, Io Kuzami.”
“That's why I'm saying that's enough of that
setting. I got tired of hearing it a long time ago...
Uuuu, we're not getting anywhere like this.”
Mizuki... No, Io Kuzami was unabashedly firing
off numerous painful words at Reiji's ears and left
him at his wit's end. As he remembered that
turbulent past, he couldn't help but have a headache.
However, Io Kuzami seemed completely unaware of
any of that.
“There is no setting, in reality, it is exactly as I say.
I am the unique existence throughout all heaven
and earth, the supreme ruler who supervises all
children who are born under the heavens, the Holy
King of the Heavens, Io Kuzami after all.”
“Every time you open your mouth the setting is
just getting grander and grander... Aah, as I thought
it's the Mizuki from that horrible period...”
As Reiji groaned in anguish for a moment, he
looked back over at her.
“Hey... Mizuki.”
“How often must I repeat myself? I am not
Mizuki.”
As Io Kuzami once more denied his words, this
time Titania called out to her.
“... Um, are you really not Mizuki?”
“Umu. I am genuinely not the true proprietor of
this body known as Mizuki. I am the holy one
descended from the heavens who receives the wishes
of all who live on this world.”
What's genuine about it? What's holy about it?
Reiji was mumbling in his own mind but couldn't
bring himself to say anything as he winced at her
words. And then, Graziella questioned him with a
curious expression on her face.
“Reiji. I don't really understand what's going on
with that Io Kuzami but... Could you explain it?”
“... Do I have to?”
“I know it is something that cannot be helped, but
for the time being, right?”
“How do I say it, it's embarrassing to talk about...”
“Why are you embarrassed about it?”
“It happens right? Look, like when you're sitting
happily together with your family and the TV just
starts playing things concerning adult matters or
something...”
“I don't understand those expressions from your
foreign world though.”
“I can't think of any other good examples.”
As Reiji hesitated to explain, Io Kuzami puffed out
her chest in pride and spoke for herself in an awfully
happy tone.
“So be it. If you wish to know about myself, I shall
inform you. Everyone other than my fiancé should
humbly bow down and listen.”
“Who's going to bow? Just talk.”
“Aah, she's going to say it... You're going to
frankly confess huh, Mizuki...”
As Reiji started muttering in despair, Io Kuzami
took a daunting pose atop the bed. As all three people
present resisted asking whether that was really
necessary, after Io Kuzami finished lording over
them with her gaze, she proudly cut to the main
point.
“My name is the Holy King of the Heavens, Io
Kuzami. I have awakened to guide the worthless
beings known as humanity who have run rampant
on this boring world to the true realm of darkness. I
am the absolute ruler of the black flame darker than
the abyss which grants death equally to all in
existence, my other names are the Grand Ripper, the
Death Child... right?”
“Don't ask me! I don't know!”
“Certainly, I had about three other names granted
to me though... I am the one who boils all the malice
in the world into an equal jet black darkness using
that Pandora whose name is karma to...”
“You don't have to say it! You don't have to say
anymore, so please!”
Reiji blocked his ears. Perhaps because his anguish
had transferred over to Titania, she was rubbing her
temple with a severe expression.
“... I don't understand why, but just listening to
her gives me a headache.”
“You get a headache precisely because you can't
understand, Tia...”
The two of them were suffering equally, but on the
other hand, Graziella seemed to be thinking about it
seriously―
“Reiji, your Royal Highness. Could it be that
Mizuki was possessed by something strange? Didn't
that elf mention it earlier? The reason the King who
ruled over this area became a tyrant was because he
was possessed by a tyrannical will.”
“Now that you mention it.”
“Could you not group me together with such a
thing?”
And as Reiji remembered, Io Kuzami was furious
with dissatisfaction. True, if he grouped them
together, he would feel sorry for the tyrant.
“I shall say this beforehand, but I did not even
touch that book, and in the first place, did that one
who served he who holds the fist which conquered
the devil, which shook the heavens and earth from
top to bottom and spread his name across the
universe, satisfied with atrocities greater than God,
greater than Satan, the god of demons, not take it
with him?”
Io Kuzami was probably referring to the demon
who named himself Ilzarl. Certainly, Faylia had said
that the origin of the tyrant's possession was that
book itself. But rather than that, if the tyrant did end
up possessing Mizuki, there was no point in digging
up Mizuki's past which was hidden in the darkness.
As Reiji wrinkled his brow wondering just what was
going on, Titania drew closer to him. And then, she
brought her mouth close to his ear.
“... Reiji-sama, what do you think?”
“Perhaps, and only perhaps, inside Mizuki, another
personality other than herself was born or
something?”
“Another personality?”
“Un. It's a mental illness called split personality
disorder. When humans undergo tremendous stress,
they're unable to keep their mind in balance and a
personality other than the original personality is
born.”
Reiji gave Titania a simple explanation of a single
cause of split personality disorder. Graziella, who
also heard this explanation from the side, cut in to
their conversation.
“So that is the situation that Mizuki is in right
now...? Fumu. Certainly, at that time, the demon
had fired off a tremendous amount of fighting spirit.
It isn't strange to think that it would have done her
in mentally.”
“Is there a way to turn her back?”
“It's not like I'm a doctor so I don't know... But, I
heard that people with such disorders sometimes
switch personalities, or when they're released from
their stress the new personality integrates back in
with the old one. After a certain amount of time we
may be able to find a way to resolve it.”
“So it doesn't mean that Mizuki's personality just
vanished.”
“That's only speaking theoretically though...”
Titania felt a slight sense of relief in her chest. And
then, suddenly, Io Kuzami cut in to their
conversation herself.
“Talking in secret only amongst yourselves?
Include myself as well. Allow me to listen to your
foolish predictions that are tinier than a grain of
rice.”
“No, if we include Mizuki right now, we won't be
able to move the conversation along, so I'll refrain.”
“Mizuki. Do not worry. Until you return to
normal, I'll help you to the best of my abilities.”
“So you have finally ignored me. Nothing but
insolent fellows here.”
Io Kuzami let out her dissatisfaction with a snort.
However, after making a dissatisfied expression, she
suddenly showed a fearless smile.
“More importantly. My dear fiancé, is it fine for
you to only worry about myself?”
“Eh?”
“That.”
What Io Kuzami was pointing at, was the pocket
of Reiji's blazer. Inside that pocket, there was the
Sacrament as well as the thing called a Lachesis
Meter he received from Faylia. Wondering what was
wrong with that, Reiji reached into his pocket,
and―tick.
“Eh―?”
He recognized the sound of a clock hand ticking in
his head. He heard it, would not quite match the
phenomenon he just experienced. It was as if the
sound resounded directly deep within his ears.
“Reiji-sama?”
“Did you, hear that just now?”
“Hear what?”
Titania was making an expression like she didn't
know what was what. She did not seem to have
heard the ticking. And after a short pause, Titania
questioned him again.
“Reiji-sama, did you hear something?”
“We didn't hear anything though.”
Graziella surveyed the area alertly as she tried to
search for the source of any sounds. However, the
sound could currently only be heard by Reiji. On the
other hand, Io Kuzami was simply grinning widely
like before while smiling like she was toying with
him. As she smiled and narrowed her eyes towards
his hand, Reiji opened the lid of the pocket watch.
And just as when he first picked it up, there was a
curved hour and minute hand inside. However...
“It's moving...”
When he first opened it, it was certainly different.
The curved needles were now moving, only ever so
slightly, but it was roughly just about every minute.
“What a sinful measuring device. As if to say that
everyone is destined to perish, and then making such
an object as if to rebel against it.”
“... Mizu, or not, Io Kuzami-san, what is this to
you?”
“This is the scale which measures the apocolypse.
It is a magic relic which represents the rivalry
between the unwinding future and the rebellion of
the current day.”
“... Faylia-dono did say something like that huh.
Something about the beginning of the end of the
world right?”
“In other words, you just repeated what Faylia
said in an exaggerated expression?”
“I cannot deny the exaggerated expression... Well,
take it however you like. You are only able to do so
at this time after all. FUHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
As Reiji looked at the Lachesis Meter with a stern
expression, Io Kuzami broke into laughter. Her
laughter gradually grew louder and louder, and
obstructed Reiji's thoughts. Unable to bear it any
longer, he screamed at Io Kuzami.
“Can you be a little quieter Mizuki!?”
“Will you remember it properly already! My name
is the Holy King of the Heavens, Io Kuzami! It is
absolutely not Mizuki! Absolutely not!”
“AAAAH DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! Why
did it end up like this!? SUIMEI! SAVE
MEEEEEEEEEEE!!”
Io Kuzami's loud laughter and Reiji's shriek of
despair echoed through the building. This all
happened during the evening, one week after Suimei
fought Eanru.
Chapter 3
The New Enemies
In the end, the battle against the demons in the
northern Alliance had ended in the form of the
demons' temporary retreat.
During the battle, the various countries of the
Alliance had suffered a considerable number of
casualties, and each of their forces had also
temporarily retreated to reorganize themselves. And
so, the conclusion was that the battle between
armies ended in a draw due to injury.
Meanwhile, because of the incident during the
battle where the demons unexpectedly targeted
Hatsumi specifically, having heard the story, the
king of Miazen requested Hatsumi and the others to
return, and intensified the defence of the capital city.
Though when it came to the opponent who
overwhelmed both Suimei and the hero Hatsumi,
they were bound to fail no matter how many soldiers
they gathered, but this was about the only defensive
plan they could put in place. Soldiers were gathered
from Miazen's domain, and patrols were going
around the city to the point where one could say that
they were overdoing it.
Apart from that, the royal court also seemed to still
be vigilant towards Suimei, but currently, doing
anything about it was out of the question, and
partway it ended up taking the form of them
ignoring him and neglecting the circumstances.
A few days after Suimei and the others left the
scene of the battle, Kuchiba Hatsumi returned from
the battlefield after it was determined that there was
a break in the fighting with the demons. And now,
she was visiting a certain place on her own.
That place was the lodging house of Twilight
Pavilion. It was the building Suimei and the others
were renting rooms in. Hatsumi went up the double
staircases that were installed in the entrance way,
and following the leather covered handrail, she
headed towards the guest room. Before long, she
arrived before her destination, and knocked on the
wooden door.
“Umm, may I come in?”
Saying this despite having already gone through
the foyer was somewhat strange, but since she was
here to visit someone, Hatsumi just felt like saying it.
After a short while, a girl's voice was accompanied
by quiet footsteps approaching the other side of the
door. And then, the door opened.
“Coming. Ah! So it was the Alliance's Hero-dono.”
“Yes. Umm, if I remember right, Stingray-san...
right?”
“Yes, it has been... not all that long, correct?”
The one to appear before Hatsumi was Felmenia
Stingray. She spoke with a tone like she was pulling
at her memories to which Hatsumi made a calm
smile, and Felmenia returned her a dignified
expression. Taking on the same attitude of the people
of this world before a person of certain standing,
Felmenia put her hand to her chest and bowed.
“Welcome, Hero-dono. We wholeheartedly
welcome you to these lodgings.”
“Eh, ah, yes. Do treat me well.”
Hatsumi hesitated just a little at the sudden
change in correspondence, but Felmenia's
appearance immediately crumbled as her expression
softened up.
“Incidentally, could it be that you are by yourself?
With no escorts?”
“Yes. I sneaked away on my own. If anyone came
along, that in itself seems like it would be troubling.”
Hatsumi said this as she made a bitter smile. It
may have been somewhat rude, but she must have
been exhausted. None of the people from the palace
thought well of Hatsumi going over to visit Suimei.
After coming back to town, she had tried to visit him
multiple times, but the king and the cabinet
ministers seemed to have passed down orders to the
guards to contain the hero within the palace because
of the incident where she was targeted. So her only
choice was to find an opening and sneak out. It was
somewhat ironic, but she truly thought that this was
actually the safest place to be right now―But setting
that aside.
“Well there's no use in just standing around as we
talk, please come in.”
Felmenia spoke up as she opened the door and
pressed it against her own body to open the path for
Hatsumi.
“It seems I'll finally be able to relax. The palace
and streets are all nothing but guards guards guards
guards. Just where did they all come out from...?”
“That is just how dire the times are. And so, Herodono,
what have you come here for today?”
“I thought I'd drop by to give my thanks for
coming to save me the other day. The guild master
said that he would probably be in the guest room
around this time, so I came by.”
“Is that so? Suimei-dono should currently be in his
room sorting through some documents. If you wait,
I do think that he should be here before long?”
“Then I'll go ahead and wait a little.”
Guided by Felmenia, Hatsumi took a seat on a
chair in the guestroom. It seemed that they had
planned on gathering here, as Felmenia already had
tea from this world prepared. After Hatsumi took a
sip, she could suddenly hear the sound of the door
opening.
“Oops, Hatsumi-jou. So you came over?”
The one to appear was Lefille. At the sight of an
unexpected visitor, she was making a surprised
expression. Hatsumi then stood up from her seat and
greeted her.
“Good day. You were called Lefille, right?”
“Yes.”
After Lefille nodded with a bright expression,
Felmenia explained the situation to her.
“It seems she is here today to express her thanks
for the other day.”
“That's quite courteous of you. Sorry for making
you come out all this way.”
“No. I already said it last time, but allow me to
thank you again for the reinforcements. Thanks to
that, we were able to return safely.”
Following along with the standard Japanese
etiquette, Hatsumi bowed down to show her
gratitude. Having taken that as excessive gratitude,
Felmenia started waving her hands as if to say she
was exaggerating.
“It was nothing. All we did was provide assistance
to Suimei-dono. If you are going to relay you
gratitude, please give it to Suimei-dono.”
“Aah. If Suimei-kun didn't say he would go, those
reinforcements probably wouldn't have shown up
after all. It is only proper that he should be the one
thanked for it. Please do not pay us any mind.”
The two of them were speaking modestly. From
their attitude, Hatsumi could just vaguely feel like
there was a wall between them. It was practically
the first time they met, so it couldn't really be helped,
but it felt like they were being vigilant about
something else.
As Hatsumi continued sipping at her tea while
holding on to such thoughts, judging that the time
would be appropriate as Lefille took her seat,
Felmenia broke the ice in a somewhat timid manner.
“Umm... Hero-dono, would it be alright for me to
ask something?”
“Yes? What about?”
“It's about Suimei-dono, umm, what is your
relationship with him?”
“It seems we're cousins. Did you not hear about it
from Yakagi?”
“That's, certainly we had inquired about it, but...”
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, no...”
Felmenia awkwardly averted her gaze, it seemed it
was something difficult for her to ask. Hatsumi
couldn't tell whether her roundabout manner of
asking was supposed to make her realize or say
something, but as she was making a curious
expression while thinking about it, this time, Lefille
spoke up.
“You can't be so sluggish about it. Hatsumi-jou,
I'd like to frankly cut to the point. What do you think
about Suimei-kun?”
“Wh-what, as in...”
Hatsumi twitched like her chest had just been
pricked. Being asked what she thought about him,
that kind of context came to her mind. And then, to
show that she was right on the mark, the one who
had asked her, Lefille, continued speaking with a
somewhat embarrassed and reddened face.
“U-umm, that's, you know... That is to say, do you
love him or not, as a man...”
“H-Hero-dono, what do you think about Suimeidono!?”
As if jumping on the wagon, Felmenia bent
forwards out of her seat with a dire expression. Both
of them were quite serious, but...
“Wait a sec here! Why are you asking me that kind
of thing?”
“Because to us, it is an important matter.”
And with that, Hatsumi finally had an inkling
about just what kind of intention they had in asking
such questions. At the same time that she realized,
Felmenia and Lefille also somehow seemed to sense
just how Hatsumi thought of Suimei.
―And then, Hatsumi, Lefille and Felmenia each
reacted...
“Fuu.”
“Hou.”
“Mumumu...”
And they began glaring at each other with grim
expressions. All three of them were looking at each
other like rivals.
Just then, having finished organizing his
documents, Suimei arrived. After coming to a good
stopping point in his work, he was in a good mood
and entered the room while humming a song. And
for some reason, three beauties were shooting sparks
off at each other right before his eyes.
“Eh... What's this? What's happening?”
And so, the battle concerning the thickheaded
magician, had just begun.
★
―Liliana Zandyke had recently developed a
strange 'cuddling habit.'
After she started grouping up with Suimei and the
others, whenever her loneliness became unbearable,
she would cling on to one among those three. It was
likely that it ended up like this because she became
aware of what it was like to be spoiled by others. She
had not experienced it much up until now, but when
she was alone at night, or when she suddenly
remembered the time before Rogue picked her up,
she would start thinking it would end up like it was
before, and it would become very painful for her.
At those times, she would be embraced by one of
those three, and her depressed heart would calm
down. Even though she was well passed the age to
do so and she knew she shouldn't, Lefille said it was
something she could only do now, so there was no
reason to hold back, that she should regain all the
times she couldn't do so since she was born right
here as she hugged her.
Loneliness was something that could settle in
without any specific trigger. On this day, it wasn't
any different.
“Who, should I pick, today.”
While walking towards the guest room, Liliana
was thinking about who to have fawn over her. If
everything was going as usual today, everyone
would have finished what they had to do and should
have begun gathering in the guestroom to have
some tea while relaxing.
This was something that Liliana had settled on,
but her cuddling partner was decided by rotation. If
she clung on to a single person all the time, she
would end up being a nuisance, so after having
Lefille fawn over her, next would be Felmenia, and
after that would be Suimei. She also took into
account their own situations when choosing a
partner and would jump the rotation to
accommodate them.
For the last few days, Suimei had been rather busy
organizing all the data that he brought back from
the black wood forest regarding the hero
summoning ritual. Because of this, she had been
leaning on the other two, so today she was planning
on using him, but―
“Suimei, please cuddle with... me?”
―Just as she opened the door to the guestroom,
what came into sight, was three young girls glaring
at each other while firing sparks from their eyes, and
the figure of Suimei shuddering excessively.
Just from seeing that situation, the intelligent
Liliana was able to discern everything that had
happened in this room. The fact that her voice was
somewhat drowned out by the sound of the door
opening was a stroke of good fortune.
Misunderstanding that she just entered the room in
good spirits, the young girls looked towards her
briefly without saying anything, and returned to
their standoff.
Suimei, who was trapped in an atmosphere which
could be said to be akin to a bed of nails, looked at
her with a relieved expression like help from the
heavens had just arrived. And then she could hear it,
Suimei's awkward and pathetic voice.
“L-Liliana huh. What's up?”
In reply to his question, Liliana began to shut the
door from the outside.
“It's, nothing. I will, go back. Good, bye...”
“No, wait. Don't go back. No goodbyes. Stay here.
I'm begging you.”
“Don't mind me. Please, do your best.”
“Oioioioioi! Didn't you come here because you
needed something? You said something right? You
just said cu-something or other right?”
Having noticed that Suimei was trying to cling on
to Liliana to stay in the room, all other gazes were
now focused on her. Perhaps because they had
sensed something, setting aside Felmenia and Lefille,
the hero Hatsumi who had come to visit out of
nowhere was rather scary. And then...
“That child, Liliana-chan, right? I feel like I just
heard that girl say cuddle though...”
So she was heard. Hatsumi was glaring at Suimei
with her eyes half closed. A hero's ears were truly
something to be feared. Since Suimei knew exactly
what those words implied, his voice croaked as he
replied.
“Ah! Aah that's! That's, umm...”
“Hey you, don't tell me you've been doing indecent
things to such a small child?”
“There's no way I would do indecent things to
Liliana!”
“Then what was that just now?”
“Eh? No, umm, that's...”
As Hatsumi watched Suimei hem and haw, her
eyes sharpened abruptly. It was just like she was
looking at some lowly insect. Even Liliana couldn't
help but shudder at that sight. However, Suimei,
who permitted her to cuddle with him, was
absolutely not doing so with wicked intentions in his
heart. Precisely because he had lost his family, he
understood just what her loneliness was like. And to
relieve her of those feelings, he allowed her to cling
on to him.
However, in this deadly atmosphere where the
intensity of the hero was doubled from having just
figured out Felmenia and Lefille's feelings of love,
before she could finish explaining, Hatsumi would
surely spontaneously snap and kill Suimei.
Seeing that Suimei was hard pressed to give an
explanation, Hatsumi began stretching her hand out
to the sword at her waist. As the sound of metal
separating from one another rang out from her
waist, Suimei raised his voice in an unprecedentedly
pathetic way.
“Umm, you see...”
“Umu, that's actually...”
Felmenia and Lefille were also finding it hard to
throw him a rescue rope. Speaking practically, it was
true that Liliana came here asking for a cuddle after
all. They didn't seem to be able to deceive her at the
spur of the moment. Therefore, the only one who
could break through this situation was Liliana.
Right now, Hatsumi was closing in on Suimei with
a dreadfully menacing look and pressure that easily
surpassed that of the demons. She was just like the
Demon Lord. Liliana was certainly not the only one
who thought so. She had never seen the Demon
Lord, but there was no other being she could
compare it too. And then, Liliana forced her way in
between the two of them.
“―Hero Hatsumi, it was not cuddle, but 'cudgel'. I
came here to get a more detailed explanation of the
cudgel magic that Suimei had thought me, so I said
'cudgel magic, could you teach me more?' You must
have misheard me.”
At the tension of confronting the hero, Liliana's
report had become somewhat mechanical. However,
it was still quite the lame excuse. Hatsumi's grim
expression did not change at all.
“Fuu. If that is the case, then why do the three of
them seem to be having a hard time saying it?”
“A magician's magic is a secret art. It is necessary
to be able to keep one's mouth shut around anyone
at a moment's notice, so the three of them must
have hesitated to speak out of habit.”
“But.”
“Hero Hatsumi. In the first place, do I look like
I'm at the useless age where I need to be cuddled?”
Liliana shifted Hatsumi attention to a new point.
This would be the gamble which decided the
outcome. The prize was a slight sense of relief, and
the chip was Suimei's life. And so, Hatsumi was at a
loss for words as she groaned with a 'Uu...'. Liliana's
physique was on the childish side, but because her
speech was rather mature, Hatsumi must have
judged that she was not in fact at such an age.
“I see. You're right. Sorry.”
“I must also apologize for saying something that
would cause such a misunderstanding.”
Bringing it to an end, Liliana bowed her head
quickly. With that, Hatsumi would not kill Suimei.
She had won the bet. But, a thought then suddenly
came to her mind. Now that this had happened, she
wouldn't be able to cuddle with Felmenia or Lefille
either until Hatsumi left.
“Ah...”
She was already at her limit for waiting for a
cuddle. Grumbling with an idle complaint in her
mind with a 'Suimei you philanderer...' she swelled
out her cheeks lightly.
“So, you three, just what's going on...? Though
without asking, I can somewhat, guess...”
“That's it! You three have been kinda weird for a
while...”
“Suimei, please be quiet.”
“Gufuu.”
Shushing Suimei, Liliana returned her gaze over to
Hatsumi, who averted her gaze childishly.
“It's nothing, there's nothing going on with me.”
And then, Lefille, who had been keeping a
watchful eye on her, spoke up.
“Hou? Is that so?”
“Eh!? That's, um...”
Seeing Hatsumi in bewilderment, Lefille cast her
gaze over her. And then, in a complete change of
attitude like she was retracting what she had said
before.
“There's nothing going on... is it?”
Hatsumi fired her gaze here and there and was
unable to calm down. Watching her, Felmenia made
a grim expression.
“You aren't speaking clearly huh.”
“... By the way, Hatsumi-jou. Don't you just have
the choice of Prince Weitzer?”
Hearing Lefille's question, Hatsumi's face became
bright red as she immediately denied her words.
“I don't have that kind of relationship with
Weitzer! Rather, when you say it like that you make
it sound like I l-l-l-l-l-love this guy or something!”
“Am I wrong?”
“You're wrong! Both Weitzer and this guy are
wrong!”
After clamouring that everything was wrong,
Hatsumi puffed out her cheeks in an angry
expression and turned away. It was completely
obvious that she was just being stubborn, but only
Suimei couldn't figure this out. On the other hand,
Lefille also seemed a little embarrassed as she tried to
speak once more, and had become somewhat
awkward as she did.
“Th-then, there's no problem with us getting along
with Suimei-kun, right?”
“Th-that's...”
Getting along. Since the interpretation of those
words covered a fairly wide range, she seemed to be
having problems denying it. And during this, Suimei,
who still didn't really understand what was going on,
joined the conversation that he should have just
stayed out of.
“Hey, Hatsumi, I don't really get it, but isn't it fine
not to be so mad? There's nothing wrong with
everyone getting along nicely right?”
“... Getting along you say, just what do you mean
when you say that?”
“Eh, I mean...”
As Suimei struggled to answer, suddenly Hatsumi
completely puffed up. And then, she started shouting
in indignation.
“What!? Despite saying 'it's my role to go save her!'
I heard it from Selphy!”
“Heh? Eh? What? No, I remember saying that,
but.”
“Didn't you say you were going to protect me!?”
“That's true, but, isn't it normal? We're family.”
“It's not normal!”
“Eh? Eh?”
Because he received a completely different reply
from what he was expecting, Suimei was perplexed.
To him, he recognized it as standing up to protect his
precious family and could likely not think of any
other reason behind it. However, because he was
being denied so vehemently, he had lost any sense of
comprehension. And then, having heard what
Hatsumi said, Felmenia pressed in on Suimei.
“Suimei-dono. I would also like to ask in detail just
what you were thinking when you said those words.”
“I'm also curious. Yeah, very curious.”
“Say it clearly!”
The three of them were steadily drawing closer to
Suimei. Looking at it from the side, it felt quite
pitiful, but he was just reaping what he sowed.
“U-uh, um, um, um... Hey, everyone, if you raise
your voices and kick up a fuss, you'll be a bother to
other people, so could you be a little quieter and
amicable...?”
Suimei attempted to change the subject, but...
“It's alright, Suimei. Just a moment ago, I put up
a sound isolating barrier, around the entire
guestroom.”
“Ooh! Thank... What, oi that's not it! That's not
my intention at all!”
“Was I wrong?”
“No it's not like you're wrong, but rather... Ddammit,
Liliana! That was on purpose wasn't it!?”
Liliana was currently making the thumbs up
gesture that Suimei had taught her about before, and
then suddenly flipped it over. Fall into hell. It would
not be allowed for Suimei to run away. Liliana had
to give up on her cuddling. He had to pay with a
sufficient amount of his own suffering.
“M-my allies...”
“You don't have any, because 'If you cut
somebody, your body will be wet with blood.'”
Hearing her repeat the words she said once before,
Suimei's shoulders drooped as he was crestfallen.
However, the circle of girls closing in on him didn't
slow down.
“Hey, Yakagi... About what we were talking about,
just what's going on?”
“No, aren't you just misunderstanding
something!? I just simply want to protect my family,
there's no particular meaning other than that...”
“That kind of thing can only give birth to
misunderstandings!”
“Umu. It seems I'll have to give you a sermon on
making that kind of vague expression.”
“Suimei-dono! Nothing will be conveyed if you
don't speak properly and clearly!”
Even though they were just shooting sparks at
each other, the three of them were now scowling at
Suimei as a gang.
“Why are all of you suddenly colluding...”
And for a while, Suimei was stuck on the receiving
end of their nagging and sermons.
★
“Well, it's about time I go back.”
“... I'll see you off.”
As Hatsumi expressed her intent to return to the
palace, Suimei gave a response with no energy
behind it and a pale face. For a while now, he had
been going through the terrible experience of being
pressed on for answers and being given sermons, so
he was pretty much on the brink of blacking out and
was completely disheartened.
In spite of it being the afternoon and being quite
bright outside, only the spot where he was standing
was dark and gloomy. After Hatsumi finished her
parting words with everyone, Lefille and Felmenia
also stood from their seats.
“We'll come along as well.”
“That's right. Shall we see her off all together?”
“Eh...? Umm, I should be fine on my own
though...”
Before she knew it, everyone intended on going
with her, but Hatsumi thought it would be a bother
to them and declined. However, their intent was not
just to escort her.
“That's, not it. If everyone surrounds you, it makes
it harder, to be discovered.”
“Ah, I get it!”
Hatsumi clapped her hands as she heard Liliana's
suggestion. She was somewhat uneasy about hiding
herself with only a robe. If everyone created a wall
around her, then the fact that the hero was present
wouldn't be easily exposed to the military police.
Having settled on their plan, Suimei and the others
surrounded Hatsumi and left the lodging house.
After walking down the street towards the palace for
a while, Hatsumi suddenly apologized to Lefille.
“I'm sorry about earlier. I ended up shouting all
kinds of things.”
“We don't particularly mind. There's no need to
apologize.”
As Lefille refreshingly replied, Suimei made a
'Huh?' like he was objecting, but Felmenia simply
scowled at him. Remembering what he had gone
through with a frown, he ended up completely
disheartened and was unable to say anything more.
“... Good grief, it's Suimei-dono's fault for saying
things that would cause a misunderstanding... Herodono,
many things were said earlier, but let us get
along from now on.”
“Eh? Get along?”
To Hatsumi, she seemed to have recognized them
all as rivals. So when she heard Felmenia's proposal,
she was somewhat perplexed. Seeing her like that,
Lefille shook her head as she replied.
“This is this, and that is that. It's best to split it up
when thinking about it.”
“That's how it is.”
“... That's right isn't it. Un, please treat me well.”
“I don't know what you're all talking about, but it's
welcome if you're all getting along...”
Finally, the conversation settled in a gentler
direction. Breathing in the air that had begun to
calm down, Suimei let out a deep sigh of relief. And
then, having sensed something going on, Liliana
called out to him.
“Suimei, it's noisy up ahead.”
“Un?”
Following Liliana's report, Suimei focused his eyes
forwards. It seemed like there was some sort of
uproar happening further down the street.
“What? A riot in broad daylight? Oioi you're
kidding me right?”
It was at the scale where it could be considered a
riot, well beyond a simple quarrel. Even from afar
they looked to be rampaging quite violently and they
could also hear a chain of scream like yells. On top
of that, they could also hear the dangerous sound of
angry roars growing gradually louder.
“I wonder what happened?”
“This can't be anything peaceful.”
Spotting a man running away from the uproar,
Suimei questioned him as they passed by.
“Excuse me. That thing going on ahead, did
something happen?”
“I-I dunno. Those guys, just as we thought they
were preaching like always, they suddenly got
violent.”
“Those guys?”
“I don't really get it myself. But if you wanna
know go ask someone else.”
Saying that, the man quickly ran down the path
behind Suimei and the others as he ran away from
the uproar. Seeing that they weren't making any
progress like this, they headed in the opposite
direction of the waves of people coming their way.
Gradually, the people they saw were beginning to
understand the scale of the uproar and were running
away one after the other. Eventually, what appeared
before them...
“These guys...”
“We saw them before, the guys from anti goddess
religious group or something, right?”
As they came upon a break in the wave of people,
the ones standing before them in the large gap, were
several figures carrying metal canes and wearing
white religious clothing. Just as Lefille had said, it
was members of the suspicious religious cult that
they saw in town before.
There wasn't just one or two of them. They were
acting together in considerable numbers as they
struck the canes in their hands against the ground,
letting out loud noises as they tore down the edges of
the eaves and fences from the surrounding houses.
Furthermore, not a single one of them was talking,
they were acting in complete silence. As if they were
enacting violence as a silent assembly line, they
repeated their destructive actions and gave off a
somehow indescribable eerie atmosphere.
From their surroundings, they could hear angry
roars and restrained voices like 'What the hell are
you doing!?' and 'Stop!' ringing through the air. But
they ignored those voices as if they couldn't hear
them at all. Before Suimei and the others arrived,
there were probably many people who attempted to
persuade them. However, all of those efforts seemed
to have ended in vain.
“They're coming, this way.”
“What do... well, there's no need to ask huh.”
“Isn't it obvious that we're going to subdue
them!?”
“Naturally.”
As Suimei was about to ask, Hatsumi and Lefille
simply declared it as a foolish question. And after
they took the initiative and stepped forwards, they
began to beat up the various armed cult members.
Hatsumi used her sword while keeping it sheathed to
precisely strike her opponents' vitals to stop them
from moving. Lefille was also using her enormous
sword from within its sheathe, and was striking the
cult members as if pinning them to the ground. They
could hear shrieks akin to frogs being smashed fill
the air.
Before the skill those two possessed, the cult
members were at their wit's end as they collapsed on
the spot. They weren't able to oppose the two girls at
all, and just as they thought that they had finished
resolving the uproar, they realized that people
wearing the same clothing were pouring out of the
alleyways.
“Wait a sec, just where are these guys all coming
out from...?”
As Hatsumi's baffled voice reached his ear, Suimei
looked for where all the cult members were popping
out of and put in practice a far sight spell. He used
his vision to chase the wall of white clothing all the
way to its source, and then...
“Oioioi... This isn't the only goddamn place these
guys are rampaging around!?”
“What do you mean?”
“They're rioting in the same way as these guys all
over the city in every direction. Looks like they
haven't gotten to the palace yet though...”
But even so, they were still all over the city causing
an uproar. After Suimei reported this, Hatsumi
knocked down the cult member in front of her, and
turned around.
“Yakagi, where's the most extreme spot?”
“Wait a sec... Around the weapon shop district. The
guys over there aren't just using canes, but they've
also got other weapons.”
“They've probably stolen the goods from the
workshops there. Suimei-kun, what about the
movements of the military police?”
“Looks like it's taking all they've got just to chase
down the white clothed guys appearing all over the
place... Rather, there's not enough of them?
Normally there's so many of them loitering around,
didn't security get strengthened after the case last
time?”
“This is just a guess, but I think they're probably
around the palace.”
“So, because of that everywhere else is basically
defenceless? Even so, there's too few... Ah.”
As Suimei made an expression like he suddenly
figured out something from his own words,
Felmenia questioned him.
“What's the matter?”
“Suimei, also noticed, right?”
Suimei silently nodded back to Liliana. It wasn't
just them that had noticed, Lefille also exchanged
looks with them and nodded. And then, Suimei
explained things to Felmenia and Hatsumi who had
not realized what was going on.
“It's likely that they're mixing in with the
supplemental guards or something.”
And from that straightforward explanation,
Hatsumi's expression warped like she just
remembered something unpleasant.
“Uwa, it's like the modus operandi of a certain
terrorist organization.”
“Aah, I agree completely.”
It differed slightly to what she was referring to, but
it certainly did seem like the terrorist acts that they
heard of happening in the West. Mixing in with
refugees, travellers and immigrants to sneak past
national borders, they would carry out terrorist acts.
This trick could be said to be similar to what was
going on here. Having finished taking care of the
cult members in the immediate area, Suimei called
out to Hatsumi.
“So, what are you going to do? Go to the palace?”
“You said the weapon store district was dangerous
right? I'll go there.”
“You would huh~.”
As one would expect of her sense of responsibility.
That serious side of her hadn't changed at all
compared to before she had lost her memories.
“Then, I will open, a path.”
As Liliana said that as she tottered along as usual,
she thrust out her index finger towards the cult
members in the direction of the weapon store
district. She brought her arm in line with her line of
sight and held it up perfectly horizontal to the
ground. And then, she pushed her finger forward
ever so slightly.
“Bang bang!”
Immediately after making those imitative sounds
from her mouth, the cult members in a straight line
from Liliana's finger were thrown into the members
behind them with terrifying force. Within the lump
of white, screams started to come out one after the
other.
“Ugeh!”
“Oi, what are you, guha!”
“Wh-what!? O-oi! Bufuu!”
Because they were all bundled together, naturally,
they kept crashing into each other in succession.
Even so, Liliana continued going 'bang bang!' in a
childish way, so the cult members' predicament
wasn't ending. Since it was an attack with no
physical substance, the cult members at the front
weren't even building up any spells as they were
blown away. On the other hand, Felmenia made a
curious expression as she saw this play out.
“Suimei-dono, what was Lily using just now?”
“That is a kind of exorcism magic. It's magic
which makes use of the ethereal body. It takes one's
astral body and extends it to directly strike the
opponent's astral body.”
Speaking of exorcism magic, there were many
spells which fell under that category, it covered a
fairly wide range. It made use of a so called out of
body experience to manipulate one's own ethereal
body as a kind of exorcism technique.
Depending on whatever was beyond one's finger or
cane, it gave the soaring ethereal body directionality,
and that extended ethereal body would push away
the opponent's astral body, causing it to go flying.
Because the astral body and the physical body had
an inseparable bond, when the astral body was sent
flying, the physical body would be pulled along, and
both would get sent flying together.
It fell under the category of an astral attack, and
could be said to be quite the powerful magic. As
Suimei went through this explanation, for some
reason, Felmenia raised a dissatisfied voice.
“... You never taught me this magic.”
“Come to think of it, you're right huh.”
“Not just 'come to think of it.' Why didn't you
teach it to me?”
Felmenia seemed angry at the fact that she wasn't
taught this magic as she drew nearer with a critical
tone.
“Don't pout just cause I taught things a little out of
order...”
“It's not just a little!”
“Technically it's not a particularly high level thing
either.”
“Even so!”
She started yelling. She was for more obstinate
than Suimei imagined. In a surprisingly unusual
turn for her, she was being quite selfish. While they
were having this like exchange, Hatsumi cut in
between them and spoke up in a slightly critical
voice.
“Wait a sec, can you leave that talk for later?”
“Y-you're right. My apologies...”
“They'll collapse, soon. When a hole is opened, let's
start running.”
At Liliana's instructions, the group started running
and crossed the bridge, and before long, they arrived
at the weapons store district. Naturally, there should
have been the cult members that Suimei had seen
through his magic, but―
“The uproar settled down?”
The street was lined with stores and smithing
workshops, so it had a rather eccentric look
compared to other districts, but right now, it was
surprisingly desolate. The signs and boxes left outside
the shops showed signs of being destroyed, but they
couldn't hear any violent noises in the area. It was as
if a storm had passed through the area completely.
“Hey, you said this was the most intense area.”
“Yeah, up until now it was, but... Now then, just
what does it mean?”
Suimei observed their surrounding dubiously.
There was nobody around. Were the people of the
district and the dwarves who ran the shops hiding
indoors? The fact that even the violent cult members
were not around was still quite the mystery. While
he was looking around, he saw a shadow walking
towards them from the front. They were not alone.
He could hear several footsteps. So they've come.
While Suimei was thinking of that, what appeared
along with several white clothed cult members was...
“This is...”
“So it's come to his.”
“How, unexpected.”
“Oioi, seriously...?”
Felmenia, Lefille, Liliana and Suimei all raised
surprised voices at the sight of the person standing at
the centre of the cult members. And that person in
question...
“―I have been awaiting your arrival. Hero of the
Alliance, Hatsumi Kuchiba.”
With cult members at her back, speaking like she
knew Hatsumi would come here, deeply tied to
Suimei and the others, was Sister Clarissa. Only
Hatsumi did not know who she was, and showed a
puzzled expression.
“A cat eared, sister...?”
“I am called Clarissa. I am pleased to make your
acquaintance.”
Saying that, Clarissa bowed elegantly towards
Hatsumi. Hatsumi however, after seeing everyone
else's reactions, questioned Suimei.
“Hey, someone you know?”
“Well, just a little bit of a connection is all.
However―”
While Suimei was replied, Lefille threw out a
question like she was pushing for answers.
“Sister Clarissa. Are you aware that the ones
behind you are the ones causing a disturbance?”
“Yes. I am fully aware.”
“From what I see, it seems you are not unrelated
to them at all. Just what does this mean? I'd like to
get a convincing answer from you.”
As Lefille intensely asked for a reply, Clarissa was
not the one to do so.
“... Haa. There's nothing particularly convincing
about this though.”
“Jill!”
As Jillbert let out a sigh, she feebly came out of an
alleyway. And then, as if to clearly declare she was in
the other camp, she took a position right next to
Clarissa. She was dressed the same as always in easy
to move clothing. However, on top of her dainty
shoulder, was an unsuitably large halberd. It had a
fat and long grip that seemed too large for her palm
and an axe blade and spear tip which could be said to
be a massive lump of iron large enough to cover
Jillbert's entire figure if she put it in front of her. As
she dropped the halberd from her shoulder to the
ground, it shook the ground along with a loud and
dull noise.
“Yo, legal loli.”
“I keep saying I don't get what you're saying at all
you damn pedophile... Rather, you're surprisingly
calm about this huh.”
“Well yeah. Just from the way Sister here said
Hatsumi's name, I've largely grasped the situation
after all.”
Seeing that Suimei had come to a conclusion,
Hatsumi turned to him.
“Yakagi, what's going on?”
“It's deja vu. Isn't it kinda similar to when Eanru
showed up?”
“Ah!”
Hearing that, Hatsumi realized that it was
somehow similar to the previous situation. Seeing
her let out a surprised voice, Clarissa spoke up.
“If you have realized, then it will save us some
time.”
“Then Sister, does that mean you are a companion
of the dragonnewt who attacked Suimei-dono and
Hero-dono?”
“Yes. It is exactly as White Flame-dono says.”
“And so these guys are also your allies. For a sister
of the Salvation Church to bring along members of
an opposing organization, it's quite ironic isn't it?”
“Certainly. It is perfectly ideal for a funny story.”
Clarissa began giggling in a refined manner. On
the other hand, Suimei and the others recognized
them as enemies, and were each preparing for battle.
Seeing them do so, the one who seemed least excited
about it was none other than Jillbert.
“Aaaaah, why did it come to this...”
“Seriously. Jill, if you're on that side, then it means
you're also an enemy right?”
“That's how it goes huh. Honestly I'd rather not,
but...”
From Jillbert's way of speaking, she seemed
completely unenthusiastic about the whole situation.
As one would expect, there were parts of her that felt
sorry to have to antagonize Lefille who she got along
rather well with. As if scolding her, Clarissa raised
her voice.
“Jill. There's no use in complaining.”
“I know there's nothing that can be done about it,
but... I was just thinking why the flow ended up
bringing Lefi and the others in opposition to us.”
“Do you still not understand?”
“Ah?”
Hearing Clarissa's puzzling declaration, Jillbert
made a curious expression. Clarissa then turned her
gaze to Hatsumi.
“Hero Hatsumi. We are in need of your power.
Could you possibly come along with us?”
“The reason?”
“Right now, I can only request that you come
along.”
“I refuse. I have things that I must do, please go
ask someone else.”
“Even if I say, that it must be by all means?”
“Even so, I refuse. Do you really think I can trust
people who do things like this?”
Exactly as expected, negotiations had broken
down. Just from the fact that they acknowledged
they were Eanru's companions, it was already clear
that it was out of the question. After Hatsumi,
Clarissa then tried to arouse Suimei's interest.
“As for Suimei-sama and company, I would like
you to be silent and overlook us but.”
“I refuse.”
“Seems so.”
As they showed clear hostility towards her,
Clarissa simply nodded like she understood.
“Clara, even if you don't ask that, after all this
time, the answer was obvious. Just from Eanru's
report that he's the hero's relative, there was no need
to question whether they would oppose us.”
“It was just in case.”
Clarissa calmly replied to Jillbert's frank opinion,
and then...
“―Well then, I shall be Lefille-san's opponent.”
“Sorry.”
“There's no need. Jill, please take care of Suimeisama
and the others.”
Immediately after they decided who each of them
would be taking on, white clothed cult member
appeared from the surrounding alleyways with
perfect timing. Seeing that they were surrounded,
Suimei's group formed a circle with their backs to
each other.
“If they're that asshole dragon's companions, then
we can't be careless.”
“You're right. Setting that aside, how will we
move?”
“First we should create an escape path so that we
can get away safely no matter what happens. As for
who should do what...”
“Just as she announced herself, I will take on the
Sister.”
“Lefille. Please, be careful. The Sister is likely, a
therianthrope of the liger clan.”
“As I thought, the liger clan huh...”
Lefille agreed with Liliana's conjecture. Having
heard them, Felmenia was also making a sour face
as if she was biting down on her teeth.
“Hey, Liliana, what's that liger clan?”
“They're therianthropes who are the ancestors of
all the cat beast races. Among all the beast races, it is
no exaggeration to say that they are the strongest.”
“Uwa, seriously...?”
“After the dragonnewt we now have this, what the
hell...”
At the appearance of another powerful race, both
Suimei and Hatsumi let out disheartened voices. In
complete contrast to them, Lefille spoke in a warlike
tone.
“A worthy opponent then.”
Lefille bore her fangs and muttered fearlessly.
Suimei then took a look around at the cult members
surrounding them.
“We should do something about the white clothed
bunch first. Menia, please keep an eye on Jillbert.”
“Understood.”
While Suimei and the others were busy discussing
their plans, the white clothed gang was slowly
closing in. As Lefille leaped out towards Clarissa,
Clarissa put her hands into her opposing sleeves.
―A hidden weapon. As Lefille put herself on guard
from that premonition, Clarissa took her hands out.
And on her fingers, was a red and yellow powder
which almost resembled paint pigment. Rolling up
her sleeves, Clarissa drew sharp lines with her fingers
along her face and arms and drew out peculiar
patterns on herself.
“That's...”
Suimei squinted his eyes as he felt he had seen that
pattern before. And just as he thought it couldn't be,
Clarissa's preparations had completed. She extended
sharp claws from her fingers, and her canines grew
long enough to reach her chin. Seeing Clarissa's
transformation, Hatsumi and Suimei both raised
their voices in shock.
“S-sabre toothed tiger?”
“Oioi, a Smilodon ain't a cat...”
While the two of them stared in wonder, a
ferocious mana began drifting around Clarissa's
surroundings. It was as if a predator's blood thirst
took on a plain and visible form in the air. This
atmosphere that she brought about reminded Suimei
of something he had seen before.
“... Totemism.”
“I'm surprised you know.”
Clarissa had clearly heard Suimei's quiet mutter.
With a smile, she confirmed his suspicions. On the
other hand, Suimei made a surprised and stiff
expression.
“That's my line. Why do you know that kind of
thing, Sister?”
“Regarding this, let us just leave it as a secret.”
“Shit, there really is something behind all you
guys...”
As Suimei groaned bitterly, Clarissa's opponent,
Lefille, called out to him.
“Suimei-kun! What is that!?”
“Totemism is a technique categorized under
sensory magic in our world! Using various symbolic
items, it's a technique that mimics the power of flora
and fauna and takes them in. In the Sister's case,
she's probably receiving divine protection from the
face paint and body paint she just used! In most
cases the subject of power comes from beasts, but...”
“In other words, the power the Sister received
comes the liger clan's ancestral beast, the sabre
toothed tiger, right?”
By ancestral beast she likely meant the being from
which the therianthropes' beast-like parts were based
on. Clarissa likely possessed that power to begin
with, but from that totemism, her power was likely
strengthened several times over.
Just from the fact that she was a therianthrope,
there was no mistaking that the Sister had a close
relation to the ancestral beast and its symbols. And
then with the ritual she performed, the two
conditions for completing totemism were cleared.
However, the main problem would be...
“Totemism is magic from our world, but because
the principle of the spell is quite primitive, it isn't
impossible for it to be established in this world.
However, you know?”
“Just now, the Sister recognized the name Suimeidono
used, the word which came from Suimeidono's
world. In other words...”
It meant Clarissa, no, Clarissa's group had some
sort of connection with that world. Suimei had come
to this conclusion, and thought back on Romeon's
case. Around this group of people, there seemed to be
a shadow flickering over them that had some sort of
relation to Suimei's world.
Before long, Lefille and Clarissa clad themselves in
fighting spirit.
“Clarissa Liger. Here I come.”
“Oh spirits which reside within my body. Answer
my will...”
No sooner than Lefille finishing her chant, a
whirlpool of red wind ravaged the blue sky as it built
up around her. On the other hand, the moment
Clarissa unleashed her fighting spirit, her ferocious
mana manifested and was emitted into her
surroundings like silver slashes.
And then, they collided. Lefille was letting out
powerful slashes one after the other, but Clarissa was
evading them with sharp and fast movement and
would return those slashes with fierce attacks from
her claws.
Perhaps because she was strengthened by the
totemism, or perhaps because of the ferocious mana
forming a sort of barrier around her, it was as if
Lefille's red wind had no effect at all on Clarissa's
surroundings. Normally, that red wing would have
just blown Clarissa away and Lefille herself could
ride that wind to perform radical movements to
bring in a decisive attack, but both were no longer
possible.
Her combat ability was on par with or beyond
Lefille's. In other words, Clarissa possessed combat
abilities which could rival the demon general Rajas.
While observing their battle with sidelong glances,
Suimei and the others were each dealing with the
cult members swarming in on them in their own
ways. Hatsumi with her sword, Felmenia with wind
magic, and Liliana with the exorcism magic she was
using before, they were routing them one after the
other.
As for Suimei, he was snapping his finger as the
violent sounds he created played out like a rhythm
while he continuously unleashed his attack magic.
In a flash, all the white clothed cult members
around them had been left sprawling on the ground.
“That's the end of the idiots surrounding us! I'll
come and help... Eh, wha!?”
Just as Suimei started yelling at Lefille, a magic
circle suddenly appeared at his feet. Even though
Suimei was able to manifest magic circles, he
couldn't recognize it at all. The words, numbers and
design were all brand new to him. However―
“My foot is sinking!? Oi, it can't be, this is... A hole
to the spirit world!?”
As if he had stepped into a bottomless bog,
Suimei's body began sinking into the magic circle.
He attempted to struggle and use flight magic, but
was unable to escape from the magic circle. The
spell's structure seemed to be interfering with
Suimei's magic and negating it, and his body had
sunken halfway into the ground.
“Suimei-dono, take my hand!”
As Felmenia thrust out her hand, Suimei brushed
it off with a severe expression.
“You can't! If you grab on to me you'll just get
dragged in!”
“But!”
“I'll manage somehow! I'll be right back, so
Menia, you and the others take care of...”
Before he could finish talking, Suimei sank away
into the magic circle. With a ripple like he had fallen
beneath a surface of water, the magic circle
trembled. Seeing this happen before their eyes,
Felmenia and the others had expressions touched by
shock and despair as they muttered.
“S-Suimei-dono...”
“Impossible, Suimei was...”
“Wait a sec, you're kidding right...”
The fact that Suimei was caught by magic was as
big of a shock to them as if heaven and earth were
reversed. And then, faced with that truth, they were
more flustered than ever before.
“Just now, who could have...”
There was someone around who was able to cause
a magician of Suimei's calibre to fall. As Felmenia
looked at her surrounding, there was nothing she
could see which gave off that impression. And that
only amplified her panic.
“Felmenia. We'll talk, after. Right now, everyone
should focus, on the enemies before us.”
“There's already only one left.”
Liliana and Hatsumi called out to Felmenia and
urged her to focus on Jillbert. And then, Jillbert
suddenly lifted her left arm into the sky.
“Unfortunately, I'm still here.”
Saying that, Jillbert snapped her fingers and more
cult member appeared one after the other from the
alleyways. Seeing that they kept coming and coming
no matter how many they defeated, Hatsumi let out
a groan.
“There's no end...”
“Ain't that obvious? The hero of Salvation, a
magician on par with Eanru, the Shrine Maiden of
Spirits, and mages who represent their countries,
with all of you as opponents, there's not enough no
matter how many we bring.”
Jillbert swung her arm down. Immediately
following that, a powerful wave of power was
unleashed and gave birth to a violent wind. As it
blasted forward, the ground broke apart and was
blown away. The first to react to Jillbert's attack,
was Felmenia.
“―Wind is my guardian. Fill the outer
circumference and repel those who face me!”
As Felmenia instantly put magic into use, the
shockwave and huddled lumps of earth were repelled
from their surroundings. Seeing that, Jillbert made a
broad grin like she was praising them.
“Ou, as expected.”
“What, was that just now...?”
“That? It's nothing, I just swung my arm. There's
nothing to it, that damn dragonnewt can do
something similar too.”
Suggesting that her technique wasn't anything
special, she spoke frivolously. The others could barely
imagine just how much strength would be needed to
bring about such a result.
“Alright, here we go!”
Jillbert rotated her waist and brandished her
weapon high right where she was. Even though she
was quite far away, she seemed to be aiming for
something. Hatsumi immediately called attention to
the others to take into consideration a slash outside
her actual range. However, completely skirting her
prediction, Jillbert swung her halberd with power
from her whole body, and just the axe portion of the
weapon separated from the grip and was sent flying.
“Wha!? A chain weapon!”
“Damn right! It's my special chain halberd. Hey
hey you better dodge it well!”
Hearing Felmenia's surprise, Jillbert replied in an
elated manner. The axe was attached to the grip by a
chain, and along with the sound of the chain
rubbing against itself, the axe came flying in. Using
the centrifugal force between the axe head and the
grip, Jillbert changed the trajectory of the axe head
drastically many time and had it come straight down
on top of Felmenia and the others.
As the attack came in from a blind spot, Felmenia
immediately jumped out of the way to evade. And
then, the axe head fell to the ground like a meteor
with such power that it was like an explosion as it
sent the earth flying, scattering boulders all over the
place. Felmenia endured the wave of destruction, but
groaned bitterly.
“What a completely muscle-headed fighting
style...”
“I've only known how to fight like this since I was
a kid. Well, I'll let it pass that I don't have any
brains.”
With a smile, Jillbert returned the axe head to her
grip as Liliana stepped forward.
“Felmenia. I'll back you up.”
“Tha...”
“Aaaah! You stay away! I don't wanna fight with
little kids!”
Just as Liliana stepped forward, Jillbert suddenly
started making a fuss. She didn't want to fight
against Lefille, she didn't want to fight against
children, she was an opponent with many openings.
“Then, it's fine, if you don't fight.”
“But I can't do that either! Aaaaaaah dammit! Oi,
White Flame, don't you dare use Liliana Zandyke as
a shield you hear?”
“Of course!”
In response to Jillbert's commanding tone,
Felmenia yelled back like it didn't even need to be
asked. And then, to cope with that situation,
Hatsumi jumped out.
“Felmenia-san. I will take the front!”
“My apologies, Hatsumi-dono!”
Making good on her word, she immediately ran
past Felmenia and bolted towards Jillbert at full
speed. Her sword was still in its sheathe and held at
her waist so that she was able to draw at any
moment. She was planning on letting out a slash
while running, but as she was running, something
like a meteor came flying in.
“Ku―”
In no time at all, Hatsumi reacted by drawing her
mithril made large sword and blocked the strike. The
silver blade collided with two orichalcum daggers.
Looking down the tips of the daggers, there was a
young girl in pure white religious clothing with a
hood covering her eyes. She was holding on to
orichalcum daggers in a reverse grip, and was
attacking continuously. Before that violent storm of
attacks, Hatsumi responded in kind. Despite it being
two blades against one, she handled it skillfully while
slowly falling back. Once in a while she could see the
eyes of the girls under the hood, but those eyes
seemed somehow hollow, as if she was not focusing
on anything.
“So you're saying you'll be my opponent?”
“...”
She questioned the girl, but received no reply. Just
like the other white clothed members, she reacted
like she didn't hear anything at all, but in some way
it was different. Even so, Jillbert was the one to
answer Hatsumi.
“That one's one of your companions.”
For a moment, she thought of Selphy and the
others upon hearing the word companions, but she
immediately realized another possibility.
“A companion you say... You mean this person is
also a hero!?”
“That's it. Appropriate for the opponent of a hero
ain't she?”
Hearing that question like she was being made
light of, Hatsumi returned a sharp scowl with a glint
in her eye. The little girl's eyes were completely
hollow, it made her think that her will had been
taken. In other words...
“If I go along with you people, I'll end up like this
huh.”
“If you refuse to cooperate, yeah.”
After saying that, Jillbert once more held her
halberd at the ready. This all happened as the setting
sun hung over them ever unchanging.
★
“Lefille-san. I can perceive both anger and panic in
your sword.”
On top of a triangular roof, Clarissa had her back
to the madder red setting sun as she looked down on
Lefille while admonishing her. Some time had passed
since the beginning of the fight and it was quickly
approaching the evening. As Lefille squinted while
looking up at the dazzling setting sun, she returned
those words with a question.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly as it sounds. Your sword is mixed with
impatience. It isn't to the level where it could be
called clouded, but it is not in equilibrium.”
Lefille snorted as she denied Clarissa's words.
“I've fought an enemy before who would use such
wiles. Because they struggled for supremacy against
their opponent, they would play a cowardly hand by
speaking nonsense to shake up their opponent and
seize the thread to victory.”
“This is a warning. Lefille-san mentioned victory,
but I have no such victory to attain from this battle.
If you understand our objective then you should
naturally understand. Besides, have you not already
realized? Just by mentioning victory in this battle,
you are already panicking about your own victory.”
“... I'd rather you not speak like you knew what I
was thinking.”
“It wouldn't hurt your ears to listen to my warning
from above. I also have such memories. There is
nothing more bitter than hearing an unneeded
meddlesome warning and conducting yourself as the
one in the strong position.”
It was certainly a shrewd manner of speaking. To
hear a warning in the middle of a battle was in fact,
above all else, simply irritating. Having that pointed
out on top of that only needlessly increased Lefille's
irritation.
She wanted to use her sword skills to shut that
mouth. However, it wasn't something that she could
do easily, and that increased her irritation even
more. The place that Clarissa was standing was not
out of reach for Lefille. But even if she unleashed a
wave of red wind from her sword, it would never
actually hit Clarissa. Thus, Lefille had no choice but
to listen to Clarissa's know it all speech.
“Lefille-san. Only by accepting such advice are
people able to attain strength. For anyone and
everyone to gain strength that would never lose out
to anyone, that is my wish. No, that is our wish.”
Clarissa was making a grand speech about things
she wasn't even asked about and truly looked like a
priest from the Salvation Church giving a speech.
However, Lefille had something to say herself.
“... Sister, I shall also give you some advice.
Voicing your opinion to one you are fighting against
is something you do after you win. Only after they
are pressed down to the ground and battered to the
point where they cannot speak do you have the
privilege of making such a speech down on them.”
“Certainly. It is exactly as you say. I am greatly
obliged for your advice.”
“―Tch.”
She listened attentively. She extended her
gratitude. Though Lefille made her declaration
severely, Clarissa respectfully bowed back to her
from atop the roof. To be shown such an attitude in
such a situation only rubbed Lefille's heart the wrong
way.
“However―”
Using that as a preface, Clarissa scoffed at Lefille,
and then―
“If you obsess over such pride which isn't useful
for shit, you'll only stain that body with defeat. There
is not the tiniest amount of merit in dying in vain
like a piece of trash.”
Clarissa's words were completely unimaginable
compared to her usual courteous attitude and had
suddenly become vulgar, and seething. You're
making a misunderstanding. As if her words were
implying that, Lefille felt a chill run down her spine.
And then, that seemed to have marked the end of
Clarissa's chatter as she leaped off the roof in a flash
and headed directly towards Lefille.
Her speed had easily surpassed that of a beast and
couldn't be captured by eye. Her movement itself
was the same as the line drawn by a sword in
movement. She passed by Lefille's flank, and let out
an attack that Lefille could not actually distinctly
identify as her claws or fangs.
“Ku...”
All Lefille could see was the after image of a slash
as it passed her and she chased it with her sword.
However, because she was unable to perceive her
opponent, her slashes were all reckless. Every strike
with her sword which had no idea where its target
was held enough power to kill. But a sword that was
just swung around hoping it would hit its target
would never actually do so.
“Haa!”
Predicting the path of the afterimage, Lefille
unleashed her sword clad in red wind. But no matter
how much she raised her voice as she swung, her
sword only ever cut the air. Because of this, panic
began to scorch her back. At this rate, she would
lose. As that thought came up in her head, Lefille
tried to shake off those feelings in her heart. She
couldn't simply accept defeat. She had promised
herself to never lose again.
“In that case...!”
If she couldn't hit, she just had to make it so she
could. It was the very premise behind the phrase
'throwing away one's flesh to break their bones'. She
would ignore what happened afterwards from the
very beginning and hang everything on the exact
moment her slash could reach and make sure it was
a killing blow. Making her determination, Lefille
stood before the attack lunging in at her, and
brought out an attack with all her might.
“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!”
However...
“Too naive.”
As her sword missed, along with sense that
something had slipped in close to her, a critical voice
was thrown at her.
“Guah!”
And then, Lefille was blown away at her wit's end
by the shock that assaulted her. She could see that
she was struck with an elbow. On the spur of the
moment, she was able to avoid a strike to a vital
area, but she still suffered the full brunt of the attack.
Just like that, she tumbled across the ground. She
could hear Felmenia and the others screams as well
as Jillbert's angry shout. Her consciousness faded for
an instant, but determined that she could not faint
here, she reeled in her consciousness by sheer
willpower, and used the force of her tumbling to
stand upright.
“As one would expect of the Shrine Maiden of
Spirits it seems.”
“Tch...”
Clarissa swept her claws to the side as if shaking
the blood off of them and began walking forward in
a calm manner. Her movements were overflowing
with a surplus of composure. Those movements
which were in complete contrast to her usual
behaviour felt like they were once more driving those
words Clarissa had said deep into Lefille's mind.
Suddenly, a magic circle drew itself on the ground.
Seeing that familiar scene, Lefille, Felmenia and the
others bit down on their teeth and put themselves on
guard. However, what eventually appeared out of
the circle, was the one who had fallen into a magic
circle earlier, Suimei.
“I don't know who the hell it was, but they sure
fucking did it huh...”
Down on one knee, Suimei appeared while quietly
and vulgarly letting out his anger. He had changed
into his black suit, but didn't seem to be injured in
any way. Seeing this, Lefille called out to him.
“Suimei-kun, so you were safe...”
“Yeah... Ah, oi! Are you alright, Lefi!?”
“Somehow or other.”
And after Lefille put on a smile like she was forcing
herself to do so...
“―But, it's probably correct to say that I was
defeated.”
Rubbing the soles of her feet across the ground
while kicking up dust to the side, Clarissa was closing
in right before Lefille. As Lefille spoke in an irritated
tone, she glanced at her from the corner of her eye
bitterly.
Judging that Lefille was no longer able to move,
Suimei covered for her. As he did, Clarissa seemed be
quite wary of fighting with him, and jumped back to
put a large distance between them. In that interval
where she took a wait and see attitude, Suimei called
out to the others to check up on them.
“Menia, how's your end!?”
“S-somehow...”
“Hatsumi!”
“I've got my hands full here!”
“Tch...”
Felmenia had deployed defensive magic in
response to Jillbert's enormous chain halberd. As she
couldn't tell just where the attacks were coming
from as the small dwarf manipulated the weapon in
the sky, her barrier extended in every direction. With
Liliana supporting her right behind her, the two of
them were doing everything they could to try and
locate the point of impact.
They were able to defend, but that was all they
could do. Right near them, Hatsumi was swinging
around her sword and was pinned down in a fight
against a small girl covered in white clothing.
―The only option before him was to somehow
deal with them one by one.
Coming to that answer as a way of coping with
this situation, Suimei raised his mana at once as
Jillbert let out a cry.
“Oi, Clara!”
“I know.”
Clarissa responded to Jillbert, and took her
distance from Suimei once more. Jillbert also
returned the axe head of her halberd back to the grip
and stood next to Clarissa.
“Jill, don't let your guard down. Suimei-sama
defeated Romeon, and was deemed worthy by
Eanru.”
“Just as I was thinking why this kind a guy could
do that, I see, this ain't 'the normal him.' He's
thrown away his damn mask.”
Seeing Suimei's power right before her eyes,
Jillbert stuck out her tongue at him. The two of
them were also brimming with an intense fighting
spirit. Seeing Jillbert's power as she also held nothing
back, Suimei returned her words in kind.
“You can't really say anything about hiding behind
a mask.”
“Well, you got a point.”
As Jillbert honestly accepted his point, Clarissa
once more made a proposal to him.
“Suimei-sama, could you not simply take Lefillesan
and the others with you and withdraw?”
“That's my line Sister. I don't know what you're
trying to do, but maybe you should just think of
another way to do it. Can't something be done about
that?”
“If we could do so...”
And just as Jillbert was giving her answer, the flow
of events suddenly changed.
“―Clarissa, Jillbert. That is enough. Step back.”
From the sky, the deep voice of a man suddenly
came down on them. As Suimei looked up at the
madder red sky and turned his gaze to the source of
that voice, he could see the shadow of a person
standing atop the point of a gabled roof.
“Tch, another damn―Ah?”
While he was in the middle of cursing, Suimei
noticed something strange. The sun was setting, in a
short while it would finish setting, but even so, if one
stood atop a roof where there was no cover, their
figure should have been completely clear. However,
the one who ordered Clarissa and Jillbert to retreat
had a somewhat hazy figure as if he was a mirage.
The man's voice once more passed down to the two
of them.
“Let's go.”
“Is that alright?”
“The opportunity has passed. If we tarry,
unnecessary things will get involved.”
“What do you mean by―”
Just as Clarissa questioned the mirage man,
suddenly, they could hear a sound of a nightingale
chirping. And immediately following that, the world
shook. It was a mysterious shaking of the air unlike
an earthquake, and then, the chirping of the
nightingale transformed into the sound let out by an
enormous amount of iron creaking.
“... A mana field vibration with this kind of
timing?”
Suimei raised a perplexed voice. As a magician,
this shaking was a phenomenon he was very
familiar with, but he couldn't suddenly understand
what could have caused it in the current situation.
Moreover, compared to the shaking that was born
when he used magic, it left him with an inexpressible
sense of discomfort. On the other hand, Jillbert
raised a shock voice at this completely unusual
phenomenon.
“Wh-what is this!?”
It seemed to be her first encounter with such a
phenomenon, as she was bewildered by the shaking
that was different from an earthquake. This also
seemed to apply to Clarissa who was standing next
to her, as she looked around the surroundings while
being vigilant of Suimei and the others.
“Calm down, Jillbert, Clarissa.”
“But Gottfried-sama!”
“There is no problem. This is within the range of
our assumptions. The shaking will calm down soon
and things will settle down.”
And just as the voice said, the shaking eventually
calmed down. After confirming that everything had
settled down, Felmenia called out to Suimei.
“Suimei-dono! What is this?”
“No, I don't...”
Suimei didn't have a single clue as to why the
phenomenon broke out or what circumstance this
shaking was going to bring about. Mana field
vibration was something that occurred when a high
order existence manifested or was an omen of the
outbreak of grand magic. But the current situation
didn't apply to either of these outbreak conditions.
However, it did in fact happen, and was a notice of
some change occurring. Then just why did it
happen? As Suimei questioned himself, he suddenly
realized what 'time' it was.
“I see, it's dusk!”
It was the ambiguous time between the afternoon
and the evening, twilight. At this time, it was possible
for existences known as 'apparitions' and 'beasts of
the apocalypse' to manifest in the physical world. As
if to affirm his thoughts as correct, the sun set in the
opposite direction. Becoming a veil of darkness, an
indigo blue wave slowly crept over the ground dyed
by the evening sun as black spots appeared all over
that darkened region. And then, from those spots,
pitch black beasts sprung forth.
“Wh-what is that!?”
Pitch black beasts―apparitions were sprouting out
of the black holes one after the other in the area,
shocking Hatsumi. On the other hand, Lefille was
relatively calm compared to her, and observed the
beings whose identity she was unfamiliar with.
“Dogs... No, wolves?”
“There are, somehow, creepy.”
That pitch black figures likely reminded Liliana of
the sinful figure and the sinister being. As the
apparitions came into sight, she reflexively hid
behind Lefille.
Certainly, just as Lefille had muttered, the beasts
had a figure that resembled both dogs and wolves.
Their bodies were dyed in black which looked like
shadows of darkness. The portions where the eyes
seemed to be were a hair raising blood red, and the
shadows around them were swaying around.
Felmenia stared in wonder at the figure she had seen
once before.
“This is, the monster which showed up at the
Royal Castle before... No, phenomenon was it? If I
remember correctly, they were called Twilight
Syndrome.”
“Yeah. In other words, an apparition. The one you
saw before was something called a B-grade, and this
is the smaller version of it. In other words, a Cgrade.”
Magicians called the part dog, part wolf beings
before them Twilight Syndrome, and classified it as a
C-grade apparition. The first time this phenomenon
was observed was in France, and the first ones to
appear came from the phrase 'entre chien et loup,'
which established their general concept.
This 'between a dog and a wolf', was also a
metaphor meaning between safety and danger
which gave form to the phenomenon itself, which
was as ironic as it could get. The movement of the
overflowing apparitions had no sense of regularity,
sometimes they simply lurked in the shadows as
their red eyes shined, sometimes they would howl
during the setting sun from a domain which couldn't
be reached, or like now, they would take aim at
those before them.
This didn't only apply to Suimei's group, Jillbert
and Clarissa were no exceptions. As the apparitions
closed in on them as they followed the shadows,
Jillbert clicked her tongue.
“Tch, those things are also coming this way.”
“Leave them be, Jillbert. Those are things that can
only be defeated by sword saints and magicians. It
would be useless to raise your hand here. It is fine to
pull out.”
“I get that, but...”
“Gottfried-sama...”
At this rate, wouldn't it be bad? As Clarissa
appealed to him like that with her eyes, the mirage
man standing atop the roof refused her nonetheless.
“No. There is no need for us to defeat them. Even
if we do nothing, that man will do something about
it. There is no way he cannot. And there is no way he
will not. Isn't that right?”
Pausing there, the mirage man next words were...
“―Disciple of the magician king Nestahaim,
modern magician.”
As he spoke as if he knew of Suimei's lineage,
Suimei yelled out to the rooftop in a fluster.
“You know!?”
He yelled, but the mirage man would not reply. It
was as if he was simply toying with Suimei with his
words. And even though that man's face was
unclear, he could see a light smile floating on that
face.
“Everyone, we're pulling out.”
At the mirage man's command, Clarissa, Jillbert
and the white clothed cult members began
retreating.
“Wait! Answer my―”
“I have no obligation to answer, but that's right,
I'll at least tell you one thing. We are the Universal
Apostles, you'll do well to remember that.”
“Univer...?”
As Suimei was making a perplexed expression,
perhaps to prevent any pursuit, the mirage man
began chanting a spell.
“Code Pragmatic. Kenon who resists flames and
carries mass. Using those concepts, obey my words,
become one, and turn to mud.”
He was using the mysteries, the moment Suimei
sensed this, the space between Suimei's group and
Clarissa's group was filled with a light made of mana
as it drew figures and symbols. And then, flames
began flying out of it at random. The instant the
flames spread into the area, everything was covered
in a heat haze and transformed into red mud. And
just as the red flames spread, so did the red mud,
creating more flames in its surroundings, and stood
as a wall between them and the approaching
apparitions. The apparitions were hot on Clarissa's
heels, but in the end, they were unable to break
through the domain created by the mud.
And the one who was most surprised at seeing that
spell being used, was Suimei.
“That spell just now...”
He didn't have any recollection of the symbols and
figures that were drawn by the mana, but the spell
just now was not magic which used the elements of
this world. In other words, it was something more in
line with his own magic. Moreover, it was a spell
that he suddenly understood as he recalled
something similar.
“Suimei-kun! I don't know what you're so shocked
about, but now isn't the time to be standing still!”
“Y-yeah! You're right!”
As Lefille called out to him, Suimei focused on the
apparitions that were headed towards them. He
didn't have time to think about it right now. Before
he realized, the veil of darkness was already quite
close to them, and the apparitions were just about to
attack.
“―Just as the wind from far and wide conveys.
Bring the flame that shines as it sways. Hear my
voice, thou art the shimmer dyed in white. Hear my
voice, thou art the shimmer which shakes off all
calamity. Truth Flare!”
Felmenia unleashed her white flames upon the
apparitions. And though the white incandescence
mowed down the apparitions, they calmly
remained where they were as if nothing
happened.
“Suimei-dono, what should we do about this!?
Even though I used magic there wasn't much
effect...”
“Fall back! These guys can't be defeated with
regular magic! Menia, take Liliana with you and
go to the back!”
“U-understood!”
Following Suimei's orders, Felmenia took Liliana
who was hiding behind Lefille and took her to the
back where the darkness had yet to reach. And
then, Suimei yelled towards Lefille.
“Lefi, you fall back too! These guys are
special...”
“Please wait. Let me test it out.”
Lefille didn't fa ll ba ck, g a ther ed her r ed w ind a t the tip of her
sw ord, fa ced it tow a rds the shadow s w her e the appa r itions
w er e closing in fr om , and u nlea shed it. The r ed w ind w hich
held a por tion of the spir it s' pow er s had an effect a g a inst
appa r itions. The ones cau ght in the tu rbu lent r ed w ind
gu shed pitch bla ck blood fr om their w ou nds a s they
cru m bled to pieces.
“I can do it. Leave these ones to me.”
“Wow... Yeah, got it. And then... Hatsumi?”
Suddenly, Suimei realized that his childhood
friend was not nearby. He shot his gaze around
looking for her figure. Just where was she? And
just as he found her figure, she was already
surrounded by apparitions.
“Wha....”
Even though she was definitely right next to
them just a moment ago, just how did she manage
to get so far away? Within the dark domain,
Hatsumi was driving her sword skills into the
constant swarm of apparitions. However, it was
like her slashes had no effect at all on the
apparitions. She was able to strike them firmly
and push them back, but she was unable to deal a
single wound.
―When apparitions attacked humans, it was
possible to take measures to deal with them by
pushing them away and protecting oneself.
However, because the phenomenon itself wasn't
something that can be removed from the world
like that, the 'phenomenon' called Twilight
Syndorome could not be erased with simple
sword skills.
“These things just keep multiplying...!”
While beating back the apparitions with her
sword, Hatsumi's uneasiness began to show.
“Hatsumi! It's no good, fall back! I'll do
something about...”
“Even if you say that, at this rate these guys
will even go over there!”
At those words, Suimei finally realized. Hatsumi
was standing at the side of the bridge. And on the
other side, there were many people. On this side,
the only ones present was Suimei's group, so they
could manage one way or the other. But if even
one apparition slipped through the bridge, it
would become disastrous. If they used numbers
to attack the apparitions, they would be able to
effectively attack to a certain extent, but...
“Shit, if just a little more time passed it would
be easy, but...”
The sky was still bright, it wasn't yet
completely the evening. Even if he tried to use the
magic which called down the starry sky, it
wouldn't do anything. It was irritating that he
couldn't defeat them all at once. While thinking of
that, Suimei used his magic to deal with the
apparitions one by one while running towards
Hatsumi, and then...
“.... Kyaa!”
As Hatsumi's balance was destroyed, an
apparition tackled her, and sent her falling to the
ground. And then, before the girl on the ground,
the apparitions which held the figures of dogs
poured in on her all at once.
“Ah...”
From her mouth, a breath mixed with despair
came out. But for some reason, not to mention
running away, she was completely unable to move
at all as if her hands and feet were bound. Looking
at the apparitions with a frightened gaze, her
hand holding the grip of her sword clattered as
she trembled.
“Shit! HATSUMIIIIIIIII!”
Seeing that she couldn't move, Suimei came
flying in without caring about his own well being.
★
―She was knocked down by the apparitions. Up
until that point, she believed that her heart was
still firm. But just as her body fell to the ground,
suddenly, her body was dominated by a fear that
she couldn't identify.
The apparition's fangs, their claws, the moment
she thought those things would kill her, her hand
trembled, her heart trembled, and suddenly her
body could no longer move.
Even when she stood to face the demons, even
though she should have faced this kind of crisis
many times before, for some reason, she was
unable to move as if her hands and feet were
bound. 'I'm scared. There's something scary in
front of me.' As those words pounded within her
head, she was no longer able to do anything.
And then, she suddenly realized. Was this not
the same as when she had fallen down at that
time? An emotional trauma. The thought that the
beings before her eyes were just such thing to her
came to mind. Precisely because she noticed such
a thing, she was no longer able to move.
As she sensed the apparitions were about to
leap in on her, she shut her eyes as tightly as she
could. She was terrified. However, the pain that
was supposed to come did not arrive no matter
how long she waited. As she opened her eyes at
that strange though, a young man in a black suit
was right before her. Yakagi Suimei. He was
carrying a silver katana in his hand as he
breathed roughly. Perhaps because he was
injured when he covered for her, the shoulder of
his suit was torn to pieces.
“Ah ―”
What she saw, was the same as a before, just as
when he faced off against the dragonnewt, that back
that was held out to her. The one she saw in her
dreams many times, that back that should have been
in her past that she couldn't remember.
How many times has it been now? How many
times had he come to save her just like that? Other
than when she was wandering alone in the forest,
when the dragonnewt appeared, it was probable that
the number of occasions that this had happened that
she could not remember was countless.
Her appearance was disappointing. Even though
she also thought this at that time, why did she
always content herself with that back? Even though
she was supposed to have become stronger. Even
though she had learned the sword, continued to do
nothing but swing it earnestly, and should have
become able to fight. Despite all that, she was
trembling just as she was. Was this state the
appearance that she desired?
“―It's wrong.”
That was it. Because she hated being the only one
who was protected, she wanted to become strong.
Because she thought that if she remained as she was,
she couldn't remain by his side. And she wouldn't be
able to walk alongside him to protect others. That's
why...
“―The me right now, is different.”
That was it. That's why, so that he wouldn't leave
her behind, she thought she would become strong.
Yes, that's why―
“I tried to get stronger with a sword...”
Yes, immediately as those words naturally came
from her mouth, everything that she forgot came
back like surging waves. Just who she was, where
she had been. Who she was with, what she had been
doing. That past, those feelings. Every single
memory without exception returned. While dazzled
by the raging stream of memories, she gripped her
sword strongly and stood up as Suimei called out to
her in concern.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I'm fine. Sorry for causing you so much
concern recently.”
“...?”
As he looked back at her with a curious look, she
repeated herself once more.
“I'm alright now.”
“Hatsumi, did you?”
Just from her words, he seemed to have noticed.
As Suimei looked at her in shock, she focused her
aim on the apparition that was leaping in at his
flank, and then―
“My heart is the phantom of my sword's blade,
and becomes a technique to break the three kleshas
that poison the heart of man. Cast my body away
like a rock, and give my life to the steadfast
Kurikara...”
The Phantom Sword of the Kurikara Dharani.
Those words she quietly recited were the words
passed down along with those sword techniques, the
dharani. It wasn't a chant like the ones Suimei
would use, but once she recited them, her heart
would calm down, and her consciousness would be
completely focused on her word.
An apparition couldn't be defeated by a simple
sword, it wouldn't even damage them. However, it
was possible to use the sword to ward them off and
push them aside. As the apparition thrust forward its
pitch black fangs, she sent it flying with her sword
technique. Immediately, other apparitions were
closing in from all four directions, but without
panicking, she returned her sword to its sheathe. And
then...
“―The Phantom Sword of the Kurikara Dharani,
the Summit of Zen, the Enlightening Long Sword
that Leads to Serenity.”
As she muttered just like she was reciting a
dharani, she drew her sword. In the instant that she
did, she swung her sword twenty four times. And
every single one of those strikes were driven into the
apparitions.
All the ones in her surrounding could see was a
flash of silver lines in her surroundings. Every single
apparition who leaped in were sent flying into the
sky by her sword technique. And in no time at all,
Suimei unleashed shining magic at them and the
apparitions immediately crumbled to pieces.
“Hatsumi... So your memories returned huh.”
Within the remains of the lingering memory of
mana scattering around them, he made a relieved
face as if something unexpectedly happy had just
happened before him. And then, Hatsumi looked
back at him as she spoke confidently.
“Suimei. I have a barrel full of complaints that I
want to tell you, but I'll at least start with my
gratitude. Thank you.”
She was being a little rebellious, but she did intend
to convey her gratitude as much as she could. But
for some reason, he was making an expression like
he was shuddering.
“Y-your big brother wants to be forgiven from
being hit though~.”
“... You sure can talk, seriously. And since when
were you my big brother?”
“Eeeh, but back in the day.”
“That was then, this is now...! But.”
Saying that, she recalled the time that she was
saved by him.
“That time, was also a dog wasn't it?”
“...?―Aah, now that you mention it something like
that happened too... Well, setting that aside.”
As Suimei signalled her to step back with his eyes,
she shook her head.
“I hate that. I'm not running away.”
“But.”
“I'll prevent them from reaching the other side, so
take care of defeating them.”
She would also fight. She wanted to fight at his
side. And as Suimei sighed like he was giving up, he
then made a fearless smile.
“Leave it to me.”
With those reliable words, Hatsumi set out to do
what she had to. She repelled all the apparitions who
were trying to cross the bridge. She was unable to
defeat even one. Fully aware of this, she knocked the
apparitions down, and then, Suimei thrust his hand
towards the darkened sky. His preparations seemed
to have been completed. And then, he released his
mana, and opened his mouth.
“Velam nox Lacrima Potestas. Olympus Quod
Terra Misceo Misucui Mixtum. Infestant Militia.
Dezzmoror Pluviain Cessanter. Vitia Evellere.
Bonitate Fateor. Lux de Caelo Stella Nocte.” (Within
the curtains. The majesty of the tears flowing in the
night. Decorate heaven and earth with its symbol.
Infest towards the present irrationality. Dazzle and
rain incessantly. The lamented one is evil. The
extolled one is virtuous. That which disturbs all
comes from the radiance beyond the distance, from
the twinkling stars.)
A countless number of magic circles of all sizes
were floating in the night sky and moved as if they
were guns pointing towards their targets. And then,
the moment Suimei let out those last words, 'Enth
Astrarle―' (Oh starry sky, fall―), light overflowed as
far as the eye could see.
... And after that light calmed down, the
apparitions vanished without a trace. Even the
spotted black holes in the ground had completely
vanished as if they weren't there in the first place.
The quiet night town returned to its previous state.
It was as if everything that just happened was
nothing but a waking dream. The surroundings had
become so calm that it left one to think of it that
way.
“It's over huh.”
“Yeah.”
As Suimei smiled at her, she smiled back. Just with
that, she felt like everything that was important to
her had returned. Wondering how Felmenia and the
others were faring, they turned to look at them. And
for some reason, they were all making a fuss in loud
voices and had lost their composure. Just what had
happened? As they ran over with a sense of unease,
she could see Suimei suddenly gaze off in the
direction Clarissa and the others went down with a
severe expression. And before Hatsumi could call out
to him...
“Ars Magna Raimundi... No, that magic was―”
Suimei's mutter resounded throughout the dark
night sky.
★
... Due to the hero Hatsumi having been targeted,
the Alliance was busy cleaning up the aftermath, but
because they were predicting that she would be
targeted from the very beginning, the chaos created
by the attempt was limited to the riot made by the
anti goddess religious organization cult members.
Speaking of those cult members, after the riot, not
a single one of them was caught. After Clarissa and
the others disappeared in a haze of smoke, the cult
members also seemed to have vanished into the
alleyways and the shadows of buildings.
To the Alliance, the incident was a disturbance
that was completely unprecedented, but to Suimei
and the others it was devastating. Naturally, the
reason for this was because the ones who were
opposing them in that place were Clarissa and
Jillbert.
Just a few days ago, they had a friendly exchange
and parted from the two women. They had only
known them for a short time, but Suimei was
indebted to both of them in no small amount, and to
Lefille, Jillbert was someone she was very close to.
They all had strong emotions as to why that had
happened, and it could just be said to be the strange
misfortune of fate.
It wasn't like Suimei and the others didn't have
any resistance to the irrationality of the world, but
because they were people they thought they could
get on better terms with, it did make them feel a little
down.
―And so, several days after their battle with
Clarissa's group, Suimei, Felmenia and Liliana were
visiting Hatsumi's room in Miazen's palace to bid her
farewell.
Selphy was also present in Hatsumi's room, but
having come to an understanding about their
relationship, she took the guards that were inside
and outside the room and left somewhere. She was
likely being tactful in case they were going to talk
about things that they didn't want others to hear.
And after everyone settled into chairs, what
awaited Suimei was an incessant trickle of
dissatisfied complaints from Hatsumi. Asking about
why he kept silent about being a magician, she
frankly showed her discontent as she grumbled
about how he never informed her of what he was
doing on the other side. As this conversation came to
an end after a while, Suimei was left completely
disheartened.
Since her memories returned, the time she spent
having amnesia from the summoning largely just
changed into stress. And taking a short rest, she
frankly cut right back into complaining, as Felmenia
stepped in to stop her with a forced smile.
“... U-umm, Hatsumi-dono? How about you leave
running Suimei-dono into a corner at that?”
“Eh? I still only got about halfway through what I
want to say though.”
“All this, is half... is it...”
Hearing her talk like she hadn't let out half of her
true strength yet, Liliana shuddered. On the other
hand, Suimei was already filled to the brim with her
complaints and couldn't take anymore as he made
an expression like Munch's 'Scream' as he apologized
non-stop.
“Everything is my fault, so please let me off
around here...”
“I guess. It's also true that it couldn't be helped, I'll
let you get off with just this much today.”
It seemed that she somehow got as much as she
needed to off her chest for now. As the atmosphere
in the room calmed down, Suimei called out to
Hatsumi.
“... So, how are you Hatsumi? Did you calm down
a little after regaining your memories?”
“Un. Well, I've also got the memories from when I
had amnesia so it feels a little weird, but I've got a
better grip of the situation that I'm in now.”
The reason she was able to say that was naturally
because there was a possibility for her to return.
Because she had a sense of security that she could
return, a portion of her anxieties had likely vanished.
“Hatsumi. Since your memories have returned, I'll
ask you one more time. Do you want to come along
with us?”
“... Uun. As I thought, I can't do that. I said it last
time, but I jumped into this fight on my own. That's
why I'm unable to cast it aside after all this time.”
“Even if nothing could have been done about
that?”
“Suimei, you said it yourself a little while back
didn't you? If the instructor saw me as I was, I
would be punished. If I treasured my own safety and
ran away, that in itself would cause dad to get angry
at me.”
Hatsumi smiled as she talked, she had no
misgivings about this. It was precisely because she
regained her memories that she was able to follow
through on her beliefs with such conviction. As long
as she decided to live while following that path, any
hesitation she had towards it would also naturally
vanish.
“I see. Well, I thought you'd say that.”
“You're not going to bring me along by force?”
“I'll respect your will. Besides, I think I'll be able to
bring you back good news soon.”
“Did you figure it out!?”
“There's just a little more to go. For now I need to
go back to my base in the Empire, organize the
information I gained here, and start on trials for the
spell.... If that damn Eanru didn't blow away the
ruins, I would have been able to solve it all while I
was in the Alliance though.”
“I see...”
Seeing that it would still take time, a slight amount
of disappointment showed on Hatsumi's face. This
also applied to Reiji and Mizuki, but all of them must
have held strong feelings that they wanted to return.
“I know you probably don't have any intent on
returning until the demons in the northern Alliance
territories are defeated, but... Well, if the spell is
completed it should be fine to visit home for a bit
right?”
“Yeah. I'm sure everyone is worried, also...”
“Also?”
As she made an expression like there was some
matter to be concerned about, Suimei questioned
what she was thinking about. And then, as if it was
something that should have been completely
obvious...
“Attendance records you know, attendance
records. We haven't been going to school right?”
“If it's that, I'll take care of it somehow when we
get back.”
“How?”
“Well, I'm a magician right~”
As he implied that he would make it work out
skillfully, Hatsumi frankly made an unpleasant
expression.
“Uwa, you're the worst... You're totally planning
on using magic to make it all hazy. Uwaaaa.”
“Ah? What? So you want to repeat the year? I
don't really care either way you know~”
“Eh? U-n... That would also be bad, huh...?”
“Then it's fine, isn't it?”
As Hatsumi looked at him like he should be
ashamed, Suimei closed up the conversation with a
quip. And then, Felmenia had her own questions for
her.
“It seems that it has been decided with regards to
your return, but Hatsumi-dono, will you be alright
with regards to those aiming for you?”
“You mean that Sister's group?”
“Yes. As long as they declared that they will take
the hero with them, I'm sure there is a possibility
that they will attack again. In that case...”
Just what will she do? But in the end, as long as
she couldn't run away to the other world, there was
nothing that could be done about it. Based on that,
in the case that they did attack again, Suimei
followed up on Felmenia's question.
“Hatsumi. Honestly speaking, what do you think?”
“It'll be difficult. This time we somehow got
through because Suimei and the others were there,
but with that kind of ability, a swordsman would
need to be about as strong as dad to compete against
them.”
“Sounds about right huh....”
Suimei recalled the fight from the other day. At
that time, from what he witnessed of Clarissa and
Jillbert's abilities, Lefille, Felmenia and Hatsumi
were all being overpowered by them during the
battle. The hero's power was an unknown quantity,
but on top of the two women, there was Eanru who
didn't show up that time. And then there was the
mirage man who Suimei thought was responsible for
sending him to the spirit world.
If they all came at once, it was probable that even
will all their power, it wasn't difficult to imagine that
defeat would be inevitable. However, Hatsumi's
predictions seemed to be a little different...
“I can't win, but I think I'll be able to run away.
My memories are back after all.”
Her expression showed off a level of confidence
that she didn't show before. Certainly, now that her
memories had returned, Hatsumi was stronger than
when she had lost them. Clarissa and Jillbert were
both skilled, but if she devoted herself to running
away she should be able to manage without any
problems. However, while that may have been true,
that magician was a different matter. Suimei was
unable to unconditionally acknowledge that it was
possible to escape his hand.
“I'll also complete the spell to return back home as
fast as I can. If I do, we could use it for refuge if it
gets bad.”
“... I kind of hate just running away though.”
“It can't be helped right? That man, is quite
strong.”
“Un... I don't know much about magicians, but if
Suimei says so I guess he is.”
There was also the fight with Eanru, so Hatsumi
did recognize Suimei as someone strong.
Before long, their conversation came to an end,
and with a brief 'See ya,' and 'Oh,' they finished their
farewells, and Suimei left Hatsumi's room behind.
And then, as they were returning to the lodging
house, Felmenia suddenly called out to him.
“Now that I think about it, Hatsumi-dono isn't
seeing you off?”
“Yeah. I was always away from home to head off
somewhere after all. So it ended up that she just
stopped seeing me off every single time I left.”
“When you say it like that it sounds like you were
living together.”
As Felmenia looked at Suimei with a critical gaze,
she seemed in ill humour like she had become sullen.
“What are you pouting for? We're cousins and our
houses are right next to each other so we're just like
family. Besides, don't I live together with Menia
right now?”
“Eh? Ah, that's true, but...”
In a complete change from her pouting, Felmenia
was now broadly grinning in a happy manner.
“Besides, Lefille and Liliana also live with us too.”
“Yup.”
As Suimei declared that they all lived under the
same roof, he didn't really seem to pay it any mind
as Liliana nodded alongside him. To him, he likely
only recognized them as companions who shared
rooms. He was probably conscious that he was
getting on better terms with all of them, but because
each of them had their own reasons like 'Felmenia
was sent on Astel's King Almadious' orders,' or
'Lefille was there for the sake of completely dispelling
the curse placed on her,' the late blooming Suimei
who had no experience with love was unable to
properly grasp their affection.
“... Felmenia Stingray, this is the beginning. It all
starts here. You only started learning magic, and
you promised to go along to the other world. There
are still plenty of chances to get closer. Plenty!”
Felmenia turned her back on them and began
mumbling to herself in encouragement. And then,
Liliana tugged on Suimei's sleeve.
“What's up?”
“About that, mage with the large build, from
before. Is it true, that if Suimei properly fought him,
you wouldn't win?”
“I probably can't. With a magician of that level, it
would be quite difficult.”
“Of that level...”
“Yeah. It's probable that the magic system used by
that magician is quite ancient, and troublesome...
Rather he's someone who possesses outrageous
techniques.”
Hearing Suimei's phrasing, Felmenia and Liliana
both tilted their heads to the side.
“Suimei-dono just said it was ancient, but what
does that mean?”
“Exactly as it sounds. It would be an old magic
system from our world. He's probably someone who
is somehow related to my world.”
There was enough evidence to suggest that, no,
there really was no other explanation that he could
think of. The savage names that Romeon used, the
totemism that Clarissa used, and that magic the
magician used at the end. There was no mistaking
their sect had some kind of entanglement with his
own world.
“... There's also Hatsumi-dono's case, so I'm not
really surprised after all this.”
“More and more, this is quite, troublesome.”
After his small preface, Suimei went on to answer
their suspicions.
“To break through that magic, I need to go back to
my world at least once no matter what. I need to be
taught by a magician who knows that spell to find
out just what its origins are. Until then, there's
probably nothing that I can do.”
Hearing Suimei's reply, Felmenia and Liliana were
making stern expressions. Suimei then raised his
conjecture to them.
“It's only maybe... And this is completely
subjective, but what he used at that time was a
composite concept. Using two or three concepts
which are in no way similar, I think he created
something that mixed them all together.”
“Mixing together concepts, and c-creating a new
one!?”
“Yeah.”
Felmenia raised her voice in surprise. The two of
them were making puzzled expressions like it was
something hard for them to understand.
“That kind of thing, is it something that can, be
gathered and given form?”
“Because they're mixed, I think it can be given
form. It's the same as anything else. For example,
let's see...”
“For example?”
“A hoe carries the concept of 'plowing the earth.'
As a concept, it is something that one understands,
and its image is that of an iron board fastened to a
pole, anybody would be able to understand that
'symbol.' And then, fastening a tool to it with a
completely different concept, a new symbol is made
which carries a new concept or something...”
It was something like a crest so to speak. As
Suimei spoke, he looked to his left and right, and the
two girls looked like they still had difficulty
understanding. But that was only natural. Accepting
what he was talking about was like 'denying
pragmatism,' in the world of magic, it would be a
breakthrough in the immutable laws of magic. Even
if one did not know this, it was still something that
could not be easily understood.
“Aaah, sorry. Even though I don't really get it
myself I was a bit hasty in trying to explain it. Just
forget what I said.”
As Suimei tossed that subject aside, Felmenia
suddenly asked him something else.
“Are there many magicians in Suimei-dono's
world who use that magic system?”
“No, that's also the first time I saw it, I think there
should only be a couple people who use it.”
“Even though there are that few, you still know
them?”
“I've got about three guesses. The magicians who
used that magic would have been active during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.”
“Meaning?”
“They've all lived about five hundred years.”
“Five!?... Are they elves?”
“Nope, humans. Or it would be better to say they
were humans. They stopped being humans long ago
after all.”
“Stopped being, humans... That's, also.”
“They're all monsters you hear? Monsters.”
“Monsters, beyond Suimei?”
“Just so you know, compared to them I'm at the
level of a little chick. Well, at that level, pretty much
every living being in the world would be a at the
level of a little chick or baby though...”
The true abilities of those magicians was not
something that could be completely grasped by
ranking them. The reason he estimated himself
lowly compared to them was because of that. If one
was not at their actual level, even if one was a high
ranking magician, they would probably be dealt with
as simply as a child.
“...”
As Suimei fell silent, he remembered something
from quite a while ago. It was an unusual occasion
where the leader Nestahaim settled a dispute
between fellow magicians. Along with the magic
they were firing, he let out a single word and
changed them all into infants in an instant. To be
able to to make his targets abide by his will without
even using a spell, it was a technique that Suimei
could not understand at all.
“Suimei, that phenomenon, was it also that
magician?”
Phenomenon. In other words those things that
attacked them at the end.
“Nope. That was caused by something else. They
aren't things that are brought about by a person's
will.”
“The name, if I remember right...”
“Twilight Syndrome.”
He never actually formally taught this to Liliana.
However, Felmenia had seen it once before.
“Suimei-dono. Why did the Twilight Syndrome
occur at that time? When I last asked you, you said
that it was something that didn't occur in this
world.”
“That's what I thought too. In reality, the natural
power in the world is strong, so it shouldn't be at the
stage where Twilight Syndrome occurs.”
“But if it occurred at that time despite that, it
means...”
“Just what does it mean I wonder~”
Suimei began scratching the back of his head
awkwardly. While he was acting like that, he did
seem to be actually thinking about it though.
“Well, if I had to guess. The action those guys are
taking, taking that event into account, they're
moving to hasten the end of the world... Wouldn't
that be about right?”
Hearing that, Liliana cocked her head to the side.
“End, the world... At that time, all the Sister and
the others did, was swoop in and attack, right?”
“That's true, but... There's a saying that goes
'important matters happen more often than trivial
ones,' and 'nature does not make great strides.'
Everything in nature proceeds gradually, nothing
will 'suddenly progress' or 'leap forwards.' Thinking
of it that way, the reason they attacked was... In
short, their goal was to abduct the hero, but it's also
possible one important matter that comes out of this
is that they are hastening the possibility of the end of
the world by doing so.”
Clarissa and the others had a goal in abducting
heroes, this was clear. It was unknown whether this
had any relation to the demise of the world, but
precisely because it was related, black holes opened
where they where, and the Twilight Syndrome
occurred.
“I can't completely throw out the possibility that it
was a complete coincidence... But that kind of thing
is out of my area of expertise. I'm not one of the
denizens of twilight so I don't really know.”
With that, Suimei brought the conversation to an
end, and brought one of his other anxieties out.
“All that's left, is Lefi huh.”
“Lefille, is it?”
Hearing Liliana's question, Suimei made a bitter
expression as he recalled Lefille's current condition.
“She's the same as always though?”
“It's likely that she's thinking about her defeat. It
doesn't show normally, but I bet she is frustrated.”
It affected her quite deeply that she had tasted
defeat in the fight against Clarissa. After that, Suimei
caught glimpses of her acting somewhat impatient
at her odds and ends.
“Well, it's not only that.”
“It's that, right?”
“So it's that.”
Thinking about what happened to Lefille's body
alongside her defeat, the three of them each hung
their heads down heavily.
★
While Suimei and the others were in anguish,
Lefille was taking action elsewhere, and was in the
office of the Twilight Pavilion's guild master... But...
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
AaaaaaaaaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
“Rumeya-dono, please don't laugh! This isn't
something to laugh about!”
“But, but, you know!? If you, if you show me
something like that! I'll, I'll! Haa, HAHAHAHAHA,
HAAAAA!”
Rumeya was rolling around on the floor of the
office with her tails wing around laughing with all
her might. Gasping for air, it was to the extent
where it was entirely possible she would choke and
die as she wheezed for air while taking long breaths
in and out. In front of her, sitting on the sofa, was
the one who was laying bare her innocent anger,
Lefille, who had once more become tiny.
“It can't be helped right!? It's not like I became
like this because I wanted to...”
“Aaah, aaaah, my stomach hurts. This is the best
laugh I've had all year.”
Seeing that she was still unable to stop laughing,
Lefille was on the verge of tears as she scowled
bitterly at Rumeya. However, her expression was
just far too cute, and didn't carry a hint of dignity.
After finally calming down from her fit of laughter,
Rumeya reseated herself on the sofa.
“No, but really. To think that your body becomes
smaller when you use too much of the spirits'
powers. This never happened to Adyfize. Well, it just
shows how large a portion of Lefi's body the spirits
occupy is all... Fu, kukuku.”
Pinning down her mouth, Rumeya tried to stop
herself from breaking out into laughter once more.
However, she was at her limits, and her cheeks
began to swell out as her mouth filled with air and a
small laugh leaked out. On the other hand, Lefille
could only let out an exasperated sigh.
“Please put a stop to that already. Suimei-kun and
the others will be coming over to say their farewells
soon.”
“Is that so? Fumu... Then before they get here,
there's something I wanted to talk with you about.”
Saying that, she pulled in her pipe, and showed a
serious expression. Seeing that her expression had
tightened, Lefille naturally responded in a serious
tone.
“Rumeya-dono, what is it that you wanted to talk
about?”
After puffing at her pipe, Rumeya pointed a sharp
gaze at Lefille which felt like it was piercing right
through her.
“... Hey Lefi, you lost right?”
“That's...”
“Did you think I wouldn't know just cause you
didn't mention it? I'd rather you not look down on
me.”
As if she had seen it herself, Rumeya's words were
filled with conviction. Having been seen through
completely, Lefille honestly nodded back to her.
“Lefi, do you know the reason you lost?”
“... Because my power couldn't earnestly reach
them.”
“That's also true, but... Are you self aware of the
other reason?”
Hearing her words, Lefille's heart jumped in place.
However...
“No, it's just that my skills are still too raw. There
is no other reason for defeat.”
Lefille took on a negative attitude as she denied
there being any other reason. She didn't want to
accept it. If she acknowledged it, she felt like a part
of what had been supporting her would crumble to
pieces. As Rumeya looked at her obstinate
expression, she simply replied with a 'I see,' as she let
out a sigh. This seemed to irritate Lefille, as she took
on an unexpectedly critical tone with her.
“... Does Rumeya-dono think that there is
something else?”
“It would be simple for me to say it here, but...
there's a parental side of me that thinks it would be
better for you to find out yourself and accept it.
There would be no benefit to you if I were too
meddlesome after all. Fumu, what's to be done about
this...”
As Rumeya muttered in a troubled manner, she
puffed out the smoke from her pipe towards the
ceiling and tapped the ashes out of her pipe into an
ashtray. And then, perhaps having found her
answer...
“That's it. Well, you've got that boy and your
reliable companions after all, there's no need to rush
it. Along the way, it will do you good to just look at
the fights you've had up until now. If you end up
losing despite that... Come back and see me again.
I'll strictly reforge you when you do.”
“... Understood.”
“Un. In short, don't get too much into a fighting
mood, but just by saying it, it isn't something that's
easy to get, especially when you're young...”
As she trailed off quietly, she must have been
thinking of her own experiences. With a faraway
look, Rumeya gazed out the window. After silently
finishing her pipe, she suddenly smiled and called out
to Lefille.
“Lefi, come here for a bit.”
“What's the matter.”
“Let me pet you.”
“N-o w-a-y!”
Rumeya was waving her hand up and down
trying to appeal to Lefille for a good petting as Lefille
obstinately refused her. Her hat that was far too big
for her body fell over her eyes and she curled up into
a ball on the sofa.
“Eeeeh! Even though you've become the perfect
size to be petted, isn't it fine~!?”
“It isn't! Where can you find someone who would
be glad to be petted in this kind of circumstance!?”
Saying that, Lefille abruptly turned the other way
as Rumeya broadly grinned.
“Even if you say you hate it, I'm just going to pet
you forcefully.”
The moment those words reached Lefille's ears,
Rumeya's figure on the sofa became nothing but an
after image, and vanished. And then immediately
after that, Lefille's hat was stolen from her with
tremendous vigour.
“Wawawawawawa! Rumeya-dono!?”
“I got you~”
“Gu, guuuu...”
As she was pinned down with a delightful feeling
from above, Lefille learned of absolute humiliation.
As she was, with her abilities in that state, Lefille had
no chance of escaping. After Rumeya teased her for
a while, her fox ears suddenly began twitching.
“Oops, looks like they're here. Well, though it'll be
a meagre, shall we throw a farewell party?”
“
.
.
.
Y
e
s
.
”
Epilogue I
Elliot Austin had just arrived in the western
territory of the Astel Kingdom in Kurant City. While
also soothing the area at the request of the Salvation
Church, he was en-route to the country of Thoria to
the north of the Astel Kingdom. And right before his
eyes, was a towering mansion. The current time was
the evening. Under the light of the mana lamps
placed outside, he once more looked at the letter that
was passed to him during the afternoon.
“―My goodness, just as I arrived, I get an
invitation huh.”
The reason he let out a sigh was because of how
hectic it was to be a hero. Promptly after he arrived,
as if he was being expected, he was given a letter,
and the one who sent that letter was the lord of the
mansion in front of his eyes.
The name of the mansion's lord was Lucas de
Hadorious. He was the feudal lord of Kurant City
and a big noble who held great influence in Astel.
The greeting to the feudal lord set up by the
Salvation Church was the next day. But before that
could even happen, the other party had set up their
own meeting. Elliot had no reason to refuse, so
leaving Christa behind at the church's lodging house,
he arrived at the mansion.
Explaining the situation to the gate guards and
showing them the letter, he was immediately
allowed through. As he passed through the door to
the private room where Hadorious was, he noticed
that the room was dimly lit, the only thing serving as
a light source was the moonlight from the window.
The one who summoned him was sitting at his desk,
and was letting off a needless amount of pressure
from his eyes that was overwhelming even
compared to Graziella.
Elliot was quite taken aback by that, but trying to
make sure that it didn't show on the surface, he
stepped up and stood before him. He was definitely
pressuring Elliot with his aura, but Hadorious simply
pretended like he didn't realize that, and called out to
Elliot.
“El Meide's hero, Elliot-dono. I thank you for
accepting my sudden summons. By the way, how
are you doing?”
“Up until now everything was just normal, but
after coming here I've felt like I've hit rock bottom.”
“I bet.”
Hearing Elliot's sarcasm, Hadorious responded
with a snort. This man seemed to kept his wariness
concealed.
(As I thought, this man is aware...)
Unlike the Nelferian Emperor who always held an
intimidating air, Hadorious' pressure held a sense of
directionality to 'who it was being pointed at.' Even if
it was some sort of test, at any rate, the one being
tested would be left with a sour feeling. While Elliot
was holding on to such doubts, he kept up his facade
as always and questioned Hadorious.
“Are you not going to turn on the lights?”
“I simply thought it was more refined to sit under
the moonlight. If it doesn't bother you, then I would
like to leave it as such.”
As Elliot internally cocked his head at Hadorious'
mysterious subtleties, he outwardly showed a nod.
“And so, what business do you have with me
today?”
“As the feudal lord, I thought it was necessary to
greet you.”
“If it was the greeting, it should have been planned
for tomorrow. Besides, calling this a greeting is quite
the fine thing to say at this point, huh.”
“Regarding that, I recall the hero Reiji also telling
me something similar.”
Saying that, a faint smile showed on Hadorious'
face. Seeing this, Elliot let just a little of his
displeasure show as he continued.
“If that is all you have to say, then I will take my
leave.”
“Well don't be so hasty. I have one more matter to
discuss with you. The reason I called you here today,
bastard, was because I wanted to have a talk with
you one on one.”
“Bast―... Just what is it?”
As Elliot bit down his complaint at the sudden
discourtesy, he urged the conversation forward.
Hadorious then joined his hands together atop his
desk.
“I thought that I would hear your damn opinion
here today.”
“My opinion? What do you plan on doing by
hearing what I think? Could it be that you think I'm
going to cause some kind of harm to this country?”
“No, I don't believe such a thing. It's just, I'm a
little curious as to why you carry such thoughts like
wanting to save this world.”
To Elliot, it seemed like a foolish jest peculiar to
nobles. He was speaking like he was toying with
Elliot, but even so, Elliot replied honestly.
“It's not like I really want to save this world. I'm
simply saving the people who wish to be saved, and
as a side effect the world is also being saved. It's not
something I put too much thought in.”
“...”
“Does that not please you?”
To Hadorious, it must have felt like an
unconvincing answer. As Elliot was thinking about
that, for some reason, Hadorious shook his head.
“I asked the wrong question. Bastard, why do you
want to defeat the demons?”
“...? Just as I said, to save the people who want to
be saved.”
“I see. That's quite the noble thought.”
“As I thought, is there something you don't like
about that?”
“Yeah, it's strange.”
At the continuous stream of indirect replies mixed
with sarcasm, Elliot's tone was starting to show his
irritation.
“I believe that standing up to fight for the sake of
others is only natural though?”
“However, it doesn't have anything to do with you
right? The crisis of this world, and the people of this
other world, both are unrelated to you.”
“That's certainly true, but...”
He had a point, but Elliot had his pride. In his
world, he was a well known brave warrior. He had
built up a sense of values and pride there. He would
never act only to benefit his own well being. He
certainly was unrelated to the people here, but now
that he was connected to them, he couldn't just
bluntly refuse them. It seemed that Hadorious also
saw through his trail of thought...
“Then why does that turn into defeating the
demons? Even if you do not fight the demons, can't
you save the people of this world?”
“I'm fighting the demons because it was requested
of me. I also have the power to do so. That's why I
complied.”
“I see. You're the same as the others in that
regard.”
“...?”
Elliot was unable to grasp Hadorious' true motives
behind his mysterious phrasing and was trying to
rack his brains for a reply.
“... You have a better understanding than that
man at the least, with regards to how the thing
known as a world works I mean.”
“...?”
“Based on your reply to my earlier question, I'll
ask you one more, you've made your determination
to defeat the demons, but why do you think you
think that kind of resolve came out? To come to this
world, to save the people living here, the fact that
you held no doubts towards this, did you not find it
strange?”
“Whether it's strange or not, the thought that I
had to fight was none other than my own will.”
Fighting the demons was something he decided on
his own. Certainly, the fact that his motivation
seemed bottomless was something he held doubts
towards before, but―
“That's not it, bastard. You are, no, all of you are
being manipulated.”
“Manipulated? By who?”
“The Goddess. The fact that you have all decided to
fight in this world and hold such a will, is all
influenced by the Goddess' plans.”
“...”
Hearing Hadorious' declaration, Elliot kept his
mouth shut and thought about it. Just where was
the intent behind this dialogue between them?
Starting at the reason for his battle, and now they
moved on to the Goddess. He couldn't see the end
goal of the conversation at all. It all felt like a play
on words with no actual reasoning behind them, but
for some reason, he was unable to just laugh it off.
“And why does that matter? We heroes received
divine protection from the Goddess, it's obvious that
there is some kind of intervention involved. Besides,
I don't think it's a particularly bad thing if it's for the
sake of saving people though?”
“It is just as you say, bastard. However, what if it
wasn't for the sake of the people? If the heroes'
existence was only to satisfy the selfish desires of the
Goddess, then what would you think?”
“I'll be changing the topic a bit. But precisely
because the existence of divinity is so large, they
don't hold trivial wills the way that humanity does.
Divinity does not possess the excess known greed.”
So he declared. But just as he voiced those words, a
slight amount of sweat formed on his forehead. He
realized the truth that he didn't want to, as if it was
closing in on him immediately. However, that truth
that he didn't want to hear, come pouring down at
him relentlessly.
“If you understand the beings known as gods that
well, then you should understand. Certainly, gods
have no sense of greed. However, what are gods in
the end? Just what do they do?”
As Elliot swallowed his saliva, he thought of the
beings known as gods. About just what they did. He
recalled the dialogue he previously had with Suimei
Yakagi. This talk he was having now, was very
similar to the one he had at that time with that man.
Just what did he think of god? In the end, Suimei
Yakagi spoke ambiguously, and because Elliot
mistook him for a person of this world, he didn't
investigate it any further. But if he did, he would
likely have arrived at the conclusion he just found
out right here―
“Elliot-dono.”
“... For the sake of amassing their own power, they
are existences who exert their authority.”
“And do you think that such existences would
allow those that they handed out their authority to
to act freely? You understand deep in your heart that
you are dancing to the Goddess' tune, correct?”
He was right. It may not have just been Elliot's
own will. It was reasonable to think that the reason
he thought that he had to do so no matter what was
because something was working behind the scenes to
plant that suggestion in his head. However...
“... But is that wrong?”
“Nu?”
“Certainly it may not be my own will. Our fight
may be the result of the Goddess' despotism.
However, as a result, people will be saved. In that
case, I don't think it's particularly bad. You could say
that it can't be helped.”
“That thing that cannot be helped, is stealing away
the possibilities of man. Under the control of the
Goddess, the means of saving fragile lives are
crushed, and thrown away all the time. Despite this,
bastard, can you simply say that it cannot be
helped?”
“What do you mean?”
So he asked, but Hadorious answered his question
with another question.
“Allow me to ask you first. What kind of place was
your world? Was it a world where people pushed
forwards for the sake of living a better life every day,
and in the end, those efforts were rewarded and the
world you knew was built with that as its
foundation?”
“What are you saying? Isn't that obvi―”
Yes, it was obvious to always strive for better. As
long as people lived, development and growth was
an extremely natural outcome. However, from the
way Hadorious was speaking, it was like he had
doubts towards that way of living―
And then, he realized. Beyond that question, was
the mechanism which drove this world.
“... It couldn't be, this world...”
The moment he asked for confirmation, the door
to the office opened, and several soldiers appeared.
As they fluently formed a line, Elliot glanced at them
and questioned Hadorious.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“Our conversation is done for now. I will be testing
you out from here.”
“If it's something violent, then I'll lodge a
complaint to the Salvation Church though?”
“That's only if you manage to leave here right?”
“Do you really think they will be able to stop me?”
His words were arrogant and daring, but his
opponents were mere soldiers. Even if they grouped
up, they would be no match for Elliot who had
received the Goddess' divine protection. Just as he
was thinking this, Hadorious separated himself from
his desk.
“Your opponent is me, bastard.”
“For the esteemed Duke himself to step forward,
won't it be troublesome if you get injured?”
“First let's see you try.”
Ignoring Elliot's sarcasm, Hadorious provoked
him. It was difficult to have a quarrel within the
mansion of a feudal lord, but judging that nothing
would proceed by just talking, Elliot drew his sword
and attacked. However, without even noticing that
Hadorious sword was even drawn, Elliot's sword was
stopped by it.
“Wha!?”
“Hou... As I thought, you jump to action
differently from the others.”
“You stopped my sword... With one hand?”
He had no intention of actually hitting Hadorious.
He fully planned on stopping just before making
contact. However, the speed of his sword was such
that a normal human would be unable to see its
movement. Thus, it was a tremendous shock to see it
stopped like that.
“Hero. You certainly do not intend to say that is all
you have? Back when you fought the third Imperial
princess of the Empire, did you not also hold back?”
“... How do you know that?”
“It just means, I have a way of finding out.”
Elliot put his strength into his sword, and from the
resistance he felt, he leaped back on his own. And
then, he returned his sword to its sheathe.
... He couldn't understand the nature of this man.
Naturally, this also included what he was thinking
about. At this rate, it wouldn't be strange no matter
what happened. Even if he was captured, even if he
was killed, nothing seemed impossible at this point.
Having made that judgment, Elliot made his
resolve. What he need to do at that moment, was to
use all his strength to cut his way through. While
still unarmed, he rolled up the sleeve on his right
arm. And then, a silver gauntlet appeared on Elliot's
arm. He then gave his final warning.
“... If I get serious, the mansion won't get off
lightly you know?”
“That's only if you are able to use your power at its
best.”
“Very well. I will show you my power.”
Electricity coiled around Elliot's arm. The
furnishings in the room that were stuck by the
lightning and shattered to pieces. Even with that, he
was still holding it back, and it seemed Hadorious
even saw through that as well.
“A great power. I see, so this is why you can't use
it in the centre of a city.”
“Naturally. Because of the divine protection from
the hero summoning ceremony, my power has
increased. If I used this in the middle of a city, it
would be a bother to many unrelated people.”
After speaking, just as he was about to drive
himself at Hadorious...
“If you have that much power, then it is more
than enough.”
“More than enough...?”
“I'm talking about the divine protection. If its that
well adapted to your body, then the necessary
portion has likely been filled.”
“I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm
not about to stop at this point.”
“I don't mind. After all, it isn't my role to stop
you.”
And immediately after Hadorious' suggestive
words, a shock ran through Elliot's nape.
“Wh... at...?”
Elliot's voice was puzzled. The sudden blow left his
consciousness hazy, and he used all his strength to
focus on his senses. The soldiers behind him should
have showed no signs of moving. But...
“―As one would expect, Lonely Figure-dono. To
think even that hero was unable to sense you. The
nickname you wear isn't just for show I see.”
A nickname he had heard before reached Elliot's
ears. When he was in the Empire, once in a while,
the people from the army would say the name
Lonely Figure in fear. That person, was a man with
swept back black hair mixed with some grey hairs.
He had reddish brown eyes and a rigid face. His
presence could assimilate into a shadowy figure, the
Empire's greatest swordsman and assassin.
“R-Rogue Zandyke... Just where...”
“From the very beginning. It's fine to pay attention
to the soldiers who came in, but to neglect the
possibility that someone was lurking around from
the start, it is a fault just like one a Hero would
make.”
“Ku...”
Unable to support his body anymore, Elliot fell to a
knee while trembling. While vaguely listening to
Rogue's warning, Elliot's consciousness eventually
sank into a mud like darkness. After Rogue checked
that he had in fact lost consciousness, he carried
Elliot and laid him down on a sofa. And then, he
called out to Hadorious.
“... Was it fine not to do it yourself?”
“It was more certain for Lonely Figure-dono to so
than myself. The hero's power isn't something that
can be underestimated.”
“And who was the one how took that power head
on with his own body?”
Rogue replied in a taciturn manner. His attitude
was insolent, but both of them accepted this of each
other and didn't seem to dislike it. The soldiers in the
room also said nothing. And then, Hadorious
suddenly asked Rogue a question.
“However, was that alright? Becoming a Universal
Apostle like us?”
“A foolish question. I gave my sword to Gottfrieddono.
Isn't that the same for you?”
“No.”
“... What do you mean?”
“My sword is already dedicated to another. I
cannot lie about that. Of course, I have not forgotten
my great admiration towards that man though.”
While he spoke, Hadorious was clearly thinking of
someone. To Rogue, he felt like he could see a
hallucination in the direction of Hadorious' gaze.
“... Hadorious-dono. There is one thing that I must
pass on to you.”
“Let's hear it.”
“The demons have moved. They've already
plunged into Thoria and are on their way to the
Empire.”
“I see. As expected, they moved precisely as he
predicted.”
As Hadorious sighed, Rogue threw out a doubt he
always had.
“Is that fine? Is not not a little different from the
original plan? The invasion of the demons in Astel
and the departure of Reiji-dono to the self governed
state. The failure to capture the Alliance's hero.
Unlike the original plan, there are deviations that
cannot be ignored.”
“Regarding that, adjustment are being made on
each occasion, thus there are no problems. Besides.
The original plan was to gather all of the heroes
beforehand, but it seems that has changed a little.”
“What do you mean? In that case, the Empire will
have to stand and fight against the demons without
a hero and end up losing right?”
“No, that won't happen.”
“... Mu. Then the Alliance's hero will go to the
Empire? Or will we have this Hero-dono take care of
the demon subjugation ahead of schedule?”
As Rogue gave Elliot a glance, Hadorious shook
his head.
“No, that duty will fall on to the hero Reiji.”
“But are Reiji-dono's abilities not insufficient? A
fight against an army of demons would likely be a
heavy responsibility for him. Because of the scheme
in the Empire, the prominent nobles have decreased
in number. If it is not Elliot-dono, then I don't think
it will balance back out properly.”
“Regarding his abilities, it isn't something to care
about. We'll simply play our hand so that he can
win. Besides, the hero Reiji is currently quite famous.
Because he was made out as the one who defeated
ten thousand demons in Astel, his fame is higher
than the hero Elliot.”
“But the Alliance's hero has also defeated a demon
general correct?”
“The Alliance's hero Hatsumi had just ended a
battle with the demons in a draw. The uproar in
Miazen was also something they were unable to
restrain. Just from that, her fame would take a hit.
On the other hand, the hero Reiji has inherited an
ancient hero's weapon from the self governed state
and drove away the demon general who attacked
him. If he drives back the demons from the Empire
on top of that...”
“Certainly, Reiji-dono would be well known as the
strongest hero.”
Currently, Reiji's achievements as a hero had
surpassed Elliot's. When it came to their actual
abilities, he was somewhat behind, but to the
populace who blindly believed in the heroes, none of
that mattered. Seeing that Rogue was convinced,
Hadorious glanced over at Elliot.
“All that matters is the piety of the populace.
Certainly, it is important to have power to drive
away the demons, but that is a secondary concern.
Currently, the Alliance's hero is the strongest among
them, but the divine protection from the Goddess in
her is not that good. However, since the hero Reiji
has been steadily distinguishing himself, the Goddess
must also have her eye on him. Naturally, we must
put the other heroes to use too.”
Pausing for a break there, Hadorious looked up at
the moon through the window.
“―Let us make sure that the hero Reiji gains the
utmost fame that he can. So that he receives the
Goddess' greatest favour, and becomes a matchless
hero.”
To be set up in a high position, hardships were
completely unavoidable. If he did not carry true
ability, it would come back and bite him after he was
elevated. Rogue muttered lightly as he slightly pitied
Reiji.
Epilogue II
After Suimei's party returned to the Nelferian
Empire from the Saadias Alliance, they now arrived
at the back street which led to their base. The
condition of the place they lived was the same as
always. The alabaster that Suimei heavily plastered
on the walls of the surrounding buildings was still a
nice pure white. The characteristic dampness of a
backstreet couldn't be felt at all and the area was
overflowing with cleanliness. Coupled together with
the sunlight pouring down from the sky, it resembled
a park.
Looking at it carefully, several of the cats that
Suimei had made his temporary familiars were
settled on top of the tables and chairs that were left
in the area outside as they purred and relaxed. They
were leaning with their backs on the chairs
scratching their bellies, or just spread across the
furniture spread eagle, or basking in the sun on the
balcony.
“Kitty!”
The moment she saw this, Liliana cast aside her
parasol and charged towards the cats as her violet
twin tails bounced in the air. Since she had gone far
away, she must have needed a replenishment of cats
and dogs. Now that he though about it, Suimei
remembered that Liliana had been somewhat
reluctant to part with them when they left the
Empire.
“Hug.”
“Nyaa~n”
After capturing several cats, she pressed them
against her cheeks all at once. Because Liliana poked
around them back when the cats were made
temporary familiars all the time, they didn't show
any signs of disliking it. And the one to let out a sigh
as if saying 'good grief,' was the tiny Lefille. Standing
up the parasol that Liliana threw to the side, Lefille
picked up one of the cats in her arms and talked to it.
“At any rate, you guys, are you not going to return
to where you came from?”
“Nyaa.”
Even as she poked the cat's cheek going 'Hey!
Hey!' Naturally, the only reply she received was its
meow. She knew this, but she likely just wanted to
try asking it on a sentimental level. And then,
Liliana, who was next to her gently brushing the
cats, replied for them.
“It's pretty here, and it's easy to take an afternoon
nap, so they come around once in a while.”
“Cats love clean places after all. I see, so while
wandering around they take the opportunity to relax
and feel at home here.”
“Nyaa~n”
As the cats meowed like they were replying,
Liliana listened to them intently. It looked like she
was having a conversation with the cats, but this
was just a method Suimei had taught her to come to
a mutual understanding with animals.
―After the previous disturbance in the Empire
ended, the cats' role had ended, so according to their
contract of 'in exchange for feeding them and
securing a place to sleep for a fixed period of time,
they would cooperate,' the partial elevation of their
intelligence that he granted them with magic was
dispelled.
They all returned to where they came from after
that, but to the cats, this was an easy place to take
an afternoon nap, so they ended up appearing here
quite frequently.
“At this rate it'll become a gathering spot for them
at night huh.”
“That seems about right. It's often said that cats
like to gather.”
Felmenia replied cheerfully after Suimei spoke.
Because she was also rather fond of cats, the tranquil
sight of cats gathering together was like food for the
soul.
“B-by the way, Suimei-dono, um...”
Saying that, Felmenia glanced back and forth
between the cats and Suimei's face. For some reason
she seemed embarrassed as she fidgeted around.
“Hm? Aah, the cats right?”
“Yes!”
Letting her silver hair fly behind her, she
practically leaped towards Liliana and the others and
began petting the cats. After passing time peacefully
like that for a while, they heard familiar voices come
from the entrance to the alley.
“Ah, they're here!”
It was a young man's voice that Suimei was very
well acquainted it. As Suimei turned around to that
somewhat reassuring voice, Reiji's party who should
have been in the Saadias Alliance was standing
there. Titania then called out to him with a
somewhat calm expression.
“So you've returned.”
“Yeah, we just got back.”
As Suimei shrugged his shoulder, Felmenia came
running from behind him while carrying a cat. And
then, she fell to one knee and took on the etiquette of
a retainer before Titania.
“Your Highness, it is wonderful to see you in good
health.”
“White Flame-dono, it is also good to see you so
well spirited. Do you like cats?”
“Eh? Um, well... Yes...”
Because Felmenia had knelt down courteously
while still carrying a cat, Titania began laughing.
After Felmenia replied in an embarrassed tone, she
moved the conversation onward.
“Your Highness, If I remember correctly, was
your plan not to soothe the citizens in the self
governed state?”
“Yes. We went and returned to the Empire this
morning.”
And then, Reiji brought up one of the reasons they
ended up returning.
“Actually, we got called back by that noble again.”
“That noble again huh...”
“Un...”
As Reiji replied with a grim expression, Suimei
noticed that the person who usually called out to
them first had not yet shown up.
“Come to think of it, what's up with Mizuki? I
haven't heard her at all yet.”
“U-umm. Mizuki is...”
“What's up?”
Suimei cocked his head to the side as he asked, but
Reiji just awkwardly averted his gaze. And just as he
did...
“FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Suddenly, what he could hear from behind Reiji
and the others, was an excessively high tension
laugh. Hearing that laughter, Suimei head suddenly
felt extremely heavy.
“... Oi, Reiji, what's with that laugh that leaves me
with nothing but bad premonition?”
“Un, it would really help, if you could just guess...”
As Reiji replied in a tired tone, Mizuki showed up
with a single shining golden eye.
“It has been a while. Dark Crimson Hider whose
darkness is deeper than the same darkness of the
universe that I inhabit, oh my eternal rival!”
“Ah... Aaaaah.”
Hearing the words coming out of Mizuki's mouth,
Suimei let out a voice like he figured it out. Looking
at Reiji and Titania, he could see that the two of
them were at their wits' end. As Mizuki walked
forward with an air of composure, Suimei looked at
her with a complicated expression.
“... Mizuki, you know, didn't you stop doing that?”
“What are you talking about? Besides, I am not
Mizuki. I am the unique existence in all heaven and
earth, the Holy King of the Heavens, Io Kuzami.”
“Yeah yeah yeah yeah. That kind of thing doesn't
exist...”
As Suimei gave an apathetic response, Felmenia
looked at him with a doubtful gaze.
“... Suimei-dono. Just what is even going on here?
I'm having a hard time understanding.”
“Even if you ask me... Oi, Reiji, what's up with
this?”
Reiji then talked about what had happened in the
self governed state. About how they attained the
weapon left behind by a hero. About how a demon
general had appeared. And about how Mizuki ended
up as she was.
“... I see. After going and getting that weapon,
Mizuki ended up like this.” “Un. That's why, it's my
fault. If I properly protected her, then...”
Reiji's expression was stiff. From the very
beginning, he had made the declaration that he
would protect her before they even left Astel, so it
must have weighed heavily on his mind.
“Well, don't worry about it.”
“But.”
“Mizuki's also responsible for saying she would go
along. Besides, nothing will come out of brooding
over it now. You can't do anything about something
that's already happened. Also, since she suddenly
became weird, isn't it possible that she just suddenly
goes back to normal too?”
Perhaps because of those optimistic words, Reiji's
face regained its cheerfulness.
“You're right.”
“Though it's definitely outside my range of
expectations that it ended up like this...”
“... You're right.”
Reiji looked at Mizuki for a moment with a
complicated expression. He likely wanted to say that
of all things to happen, it would have been better if it
wasn't like that. And everyone in his group was of
the same opinion. In any case...
“―Well whatever. Lets head inside for now. We
also just got back though so we can't really show you
any hospitality.”
“It is fine even if you do not pay us any mind. We
also came here to exchange information after all.”
Following up on Titania's reply, Io Kuzami,
previously known as Mizuki, spoke with a haughty
attitude.
“Fumu. Then let us go to your damn castle.”
“Mizuki. You wait out here for a bit.”
“I am Io Kuzami.”
“Yeah yeah, I got it, Io Kuzami-san. Menia, get
Lefi and Liliana and go inside with Reiji and the
others.”
After confirming that everyone had entered the
house, Suimei faced Io Kuzami.
“Now then... So? You're seriously not pretending
here right?”
“Do you still not believe me bastard?”
“Just checking. Come here for a bit.”
“I refuse.”
“But she refuses. Actually, it's faster for me to just
get closer huh, lend me your head.”
While putting on an attitude like he was picking a
fight, Suimei drew closer. And as he did, Io Kuzami
put on a smile like she was toying with him.
“Did I not say that I refuse?”
“Can't hear you.”
Promptly setting aside Io Kazumi's words, Suimei
placed his hand on her head. Back with Hatsumi,
due to her amnesia he couldn't play out any hands,
but in the case of a split personality, it was possible to
return the original personality without giving her
any shock. Therefore, despite feeling guilty about it,
he prepared to cast his magic―And just as he did.
“Bastard, do you intend to tamper with this little
girl's head like that once more?”
“―!?”
Io Kuzami smiled like she knew exactly what he
was thinking as Suimei leaped back. While he was
gripped in surprise, Io Kuzami showed him an
expression with a shadow behind it.
“What's wrong? It is not something to be so
surprised about is it?”
“... What are you? Why the hell do you know
that?”
Suimei questioned her with a severe expression. It
was supposed to be a secret that only he knew. Then
just how would a split personality that just suddenly
appeared know that? Doubt and suspicions began
whirling around in his head. On the other hand,
speaking of Io Kuzami, she simply smiled with
composure.
“You're making quite the grim face. However, is
that not right? It is something that happened before
you bastards came to this world. Yes, this little girl
had fallen in love with you. However, you trampled
on her love. And with your damn power, you
substituted the target of her love to another.”
“... Yeah, that's right.”
Yes. It was just as the one who named herself Io
Kuzami said in a bitter tone. At first, Mizuki was
seriously interested in Reiji, but while Suimei was
helping her approach Reiji, it seemed that she had
ended up falling in love with Suimei, and confessed
to him. And just as Io Kuzami said, he used magic to
switch her feelings over to someone else. As he
looked at her as if asking why she knew such a
thing, Io Kuzami replied.
“It is nothing. When I possessed this little girl, I
simply had a little peek at her memories. Of course,
it just means I also had a look at those damn
memories that you sealed away.”
And with those words, Suimei somehow came to
an understanding as to what exactly Io Kuzami was.
“Answer me. What are you? What kind of spirit?”
“There's no need to be so angry. I have no
intention of making any mischief. The reason that I
am borrowing this little girl's body is simply because
our interests coincided.―Besides, you are unable to
remove me, correct?”
“Don't underestimate a modern magician. We've
been exorcising things like you in all times and
places with all kinds of magic.”
“Stop that. It is certain that you may be able to do
so, but the burden on this little girl will be
considerable. It is also possible that she may just
break you know?”
“...”
Suimei was unable to deny that. If the thing that
possessed Mizuki was a large existence, it was true
that if he forcefully drove it out, it would be a
considerable burden on her. He couldn't just cast out
her words as a lie and he continued to scowl at Io
Kuzami.
“Don't make such a frightening face. What, there
is nothing to worry about. I have no intention of
bringing any harm to this little girl, though she may
go through some painful experiences.”
“Is that the truth?”
“I don't lie.”
That could also be said to be a certainty.
Fundamentally, spirits did not lie. There are
occasions where they avoided telling the truth and
tricked their opponents, but if it wasn't the type
which caused mischief, if she guaranteed Mizuki's
safety, there was likely no deceit in her words. As
Suimei gave up on driving her out by force, Io
Kuzami looked at him with a curious face.
“If you think of this little girl so preciously, then
why do you keep her at a distance?”
“Shut up. I'm a magician, Mizuki is a normal
human. There's no way I can let Mizuki cross over
to this side.”
“I see.”
After replying briefly, Io Kuzami once more smiled
like she was ridiculing him.
“Also, don't mention any of this to the others, you
hear me bastard? This is a secret between you and
me.”
And with that, that 'thing' that had possessed
Mizuki began using her body to laugh.

vol 6 2018-12-13T05:13:00-08:00 Rating: 4.5 Diposkan Oleh: Unknown